Becoming Mathematicians: Women and Students of Color Choosing and Leaving Doctoral Mathematics

Abstract

Few women and even fewer African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans complete doctoral degrees in mathematics in the United States. This article proposes a framework for understanding the small numbers of women and students of color who persist in doctoral mathematics based on the notion that academic and social integration are critical to persistence and that integration develops through particular types of participation in the communities of practice of graduate school. An integrated summary of previous research on attrition and persistence of doctoral students identifies particular obstacles faced by women and students of color in doctoral mathematics and directs attention to ways in which faculty and others involved in doctoraleducation can work to improve the persistence rates, experiences, and diversity of their doctoral students.

Self‐definition of women experiencing a nontraditional graduate fellowship program

“…This nontraditional graduate-school experience off ered the women an opportunity to participate in a project that addressed many of the issues they cited as important: They were interacting with others to the benefi t of all parties, they formed caring, rewarding relationships, and they received positive feedback that they and their eff orts were valued. These are consistent with the previous literature that document that the lack of att ention to such issues in traditional graduate-school experiences serve as barriers to women's persistence in doctoral programs (Herzig, 2004;Hodgson et al, 2000;Sonnert, 1995) and advances this literature by providing one example of an institutional change that successfully addressed this issue.…”

“…The participants traded the more familiar role of a graduate teaching assistant for the roles associated with this program, roles such as K-8 team member, role model, and K-8 math-and science-content expert. These fi ndings advance the literature by providing an example on how a program that successfully addresses some of the identifi ed characteristics of graduate school that impede the progress of women (e.g., addressing climates that do not support caring relationships) may actually exacerbate the role confl icts that have been identifi ed as a barrier to women's persistence in doctoral programs (e.g., Ferreira, 2003;Herzig, 2004;Hodgson et al, 2000;Sonnert, 1995). It may be advantageous for participants to spend more than 1 year in the program, with the expectation that their familiarity with their role will decrease the balancing challenges.…”

“…For example, Dresselhaus (1986) found that the participation of women in physics classes did not occur at rates equal to the participation of males until the women comprised at least 10 to 15% of the students, (g) lack of females' involvement in issues of participation or performance of faculty (i.e., lack of responsiveness to charges of student harassment) (Fox, 2000), and (h) exclusion from collegial networking and social events (Hodgson et al, 2000). Herzig (2004) reviewed the literature on women and students of color leaving doctoral programs in mathematics. This review revealed two signifi cant factors associated with women and students of color remaining in the mathematics pipeline.…”

“…The second signifi cant factor is student integration into the social structure of the profession. Using the theoretical explanations of Lave and Wenger (1991), Herzig (2004) discussed the fi ndings of several research studies (e.g., Bass, 2003;Girves & Wemmerus, 1998;Rogoff , 1995) to reveal the need to bett er integrate doctoral students into the profession of mathematics. Individual factors found to inhibit the participation and integration of women and students of color into mathematics included (a) a need for interaction, att ention, and reinforcement (e.g., Etzkowitz, Kemelgor, & Uzzi, 2000;Fennema & Peterson, 1985); (b) a need for a structure centered on student development instead of "fi ltering out" (e.g., Ames, 1992); (c) a lack of confi dence (e.g., Etzkowitz et al, 2000;Sonnert & Holton, 1995); and (d) a sense of confl ict with family responsibilities.…”

“…An apparent discrepancy in the fi ndings is the value of women spending time with their mentors or as research assistants. Sonnert (1995) found that women who spent more time with their advisors or as research assistants were more likely to leave the doctoral program; however, Hollenshead et al (1996) and Herzig (2004) identifi ed the limited amount of time spent with advisors or as research assistants as a barrier to women's persistence in doctoral programs. One possible explanation could be found in the stress given to "quality" time: The amount of quality time spent with advisors is a barrier to persistence while low-quality experiences may lead to more women leaving the science profession.…”