Do Relative Advantages in STEM Grades Explain the Gender Gap in Selection of a STEM Major in College? A Multimethod Answer

Stearns, Elizabeth; Bottía, Martha Cecilia; Giersch, Jason; Mickelson, Roslyn Arlin; Möller, Stephanie; Jha, Nandan Kumar; Dancy, Melissa H.

doi:10.3102/0002831219853533

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…The need to account for the nesting of data by using hierarchical modeling oversimple regression was assessed by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and likelihood ratio testing (LRT) for linear models. Smaller models were used to estimate the effect of sex or race/ethnicity in final grades, average exam grades, and other coursework grades. − These models were constructed using only the data for the class (course + sequence) of interest, such as the reformed on-sequence or traditional off-sequence, for optimum estimation of that class. Larger models were used to assess differences between classes or groups of classes such as between courses or between on- and off-sequence classes.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 90%

Exploring Inequities in a Traditional and a Reformed General Chemistry Course

Tashiro

Talanquer

2021

J. Chem. Educ.

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Improvement in student performance from educational reforms has driven current calls for changes in curricular, instructional, and assessment practices in higher education. Less research has addressed the possibility of such reforms aiding in resolving the well-documented inequities in educational outcomes between sexes and races/ethnicities in STEM courses. In this study, we compared a traditional and a reformed general chemistry course offered at a large public research-intensive university. Using hierarchical linear and logistical modeling, we assessed and investigated the inequities between sexes and races/ethnicities in the outcomes for these courses. Initial analysis looking at aggregated data (not by sex or ethnicity) showed the benefit of reforms specifically for students that had not been as academically well prepared as others. Novel findings for off-sequence (first semester taken in Spring) classes for both the traditional and reformed courses found a female-lead in course grades and benefits for Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, Latinx or Hispanic, and African American or Black (NALA) students. The on-sequence traditional course was found to have a malelead in achievement in line with previous research. The on-sequence reformed course was found to have more equity in achievement between sexes. Possible sources of that improvement from the traditional course were investigated, and the weighting of different course components in the overall course grades was found to be a critical piece in the reformed course's more equitable outcomes. Though our results are promising in terms of offering a recommendation that may aid in advancing equity between sexes, our results indicate that the educational reforms made fell short in mitigating the pervasive racial/ethnic inequities found in achievement and performance measures.

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Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 90%

Exploring Inequities in a Traditional and a Reformed General Chemistry Course

Tashiro

Talanquer

2021

J. Chem. Educ.

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“…Our detailed explanation of our processes incidentally answers the calls in the literature for (a) qualitative researchers to offer concrete evidence of their methodologies (Aguinis et al, 2019;Glazer and Egan, 2018;Kirk and Miller, 1986;Peterson, 2019;Stearns et al, 2019); and (b) qualitative reports to be evaluated 'in terms of their own logic of inquiry' (Levitt et al, 2018: 27-28;Syed and Nelson, 2015). We both see the need for and contribute to this 'logic of inquiry' by offering a new approach to qualitative coding that yields trustworthy results, thus foregrounding the product of the research over complete control of the process (Sandelowski, 1986;Syed and Nelson, 2015).…”

supporting

confidence: 58%

Beyond a coefficient: an interactive process for achieving inter-rater consistency in qualitative coding

Hemmler

Kenney

Langley

et al. 2020

Qualitative Research

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Though qualitative research has become more prevalent in practice over the last 30 years, there is still considerable uncertainty among researchers regarding how to ensure inter-rater consistency when teams are tasked with coding qualitative data. In this article, we offer an explanation of a methodology that our qualitative team used to achieve systematic coding of our dataset in a way that preserved the contextual, subjective nature of the data, lent itself to the deductive and inductive creation of a layered codebook, and ensured consistent application of the codebook to varied types of data. This methodology prepared us to draw logical and substantiated conclusions during subsequent analyses; hence, the process serves as a welcome addition to the literature on consistently coding qualitative data in a manner that honors its defining characteristics.

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“…We combine the science as White property concept with an approach that also emphasizes the intersections of race/ ethnicity and gender to frame the experiences of students in STEM classes, forming a conception of science as White male property. Further details and additional findings from these interviews are reported elsewhere (Mickelson, Parker, Stearns, Moller and Dancy, 2015;Moller et al, 2015;Rainey, Dancy, Mickelson, Stearns and Moller, 2018;Rainey, Dancy, Mickelson, Stearns and Moller, 2019;Stearns et al, 2019). In this article, we present students' views regarding racial and gender differences in experiences of students in STEM.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Undergraduates’ awareness of White and male privilege in STEM

et al. 2020

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Background It is well-documented that experiences in STEM courses for women and students of color are different from the experiences of White men. As part of a larger interview study, 183 college seniors from diverse gender and race backgrounds were asked their thoughts on whether the experience of being a STEM major was different for people of different races and genders. We use a framework of “science as White property”, derived from critical race theory, to frame this study and results. Results White men were largely unaware of any impact of race or gender. In contrast, women of color overwhelmingly report, consistent with results from a large body of prior research, that both race and gender impact their experiences as STEM majors. Students who acknowledged race and gender impacts did not always attribute these impacts to cultural or systemic factors (i.e., some reported women are underrepresented because they are less interested in STEM rather than a structural reason). Impacts identified that were attributable to systemic factors included impacts related to being a demographic minority (i.e., intimidation, feeling out of place, feeling pressure to work harder) and/or discrimination (i.e., job discrimination, bias against women or people of color and cultural assumptions implying the superiority of White people and men). A small number of students (mostly White women) stated that women or people of color benefit from their underrepresented status, often attributing this benefit to a perception of extra encouragement and opportunities. A common theme across categorizations was that women and students of color work harder than men and White people either because they are perceived to be harder workers or as a response to the sexism and racism they encounter. Conclusions We found that White men are largely unaware of the impacts of race or gender on the pursuit of a STEM degree. Additionally, with the exception of women of color, students are less likely to perceive race as having an impact on the experiences of students than gender. We conclude with a discussion of implications for future work related to gender and race representation in STEM.

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Do Relative Advantages in STEM Grades Explain the Gender Gap in Selection of a STEM Major in College? A Multimethod Answer

Cited by 20 publications

References 78 publications

Exploring Inequities in a Traditional and a Reformed General Chemistry Course

Exploring Inequities in a Traditional and a Reformed General Chemistry Course

Beyond a coefficient: an interactive process for achieving inter-rater consistency in qualitative coding

Undergraduates’ awareness of White and male privilege in STEM

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