Gendered education in a gendered world: looking beyond cosmetic solutions to the gender gap in science

Sinnes, Astrid Tonette; Løken, Marianne

doi:10.1007/s11422-012-9433-z

Cited by 35 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The challenges related to gender inequalities are clearly multiple, and permeate all levels of education into employment, hence there is no "magic formula" [111]. The findings of this study, however, implicate that it could be beneficial to acknowledge and explicitly address the inequalities in science participation [100,112], such as through programmes focused on showcasing women in science. Research has found that discussing female underrepresentation in science can have a positive impact on girls' identification with the subject and their career aspirations [83,113].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Knowing about a few women in science and considering some science-related jobs as compatible with performances of femininity appeared insufficient to help the girls in this study understand and navigate participation in science. Based on the findings of this study, I argue that focusing on "image" issues might be inadequate, as others have noted [100]. The egalitarian discourse that everyone can participate and succeed in science if they put their skills and determination to work offers few resources and strategies for girls to leverage when self-improvement does not suffice [16,110].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…The premise seemed to be to show girls that femininity is compatible with science, which would presumably encourage them into the discipline. However, programmes that have focused on girls specifically through including typically "girly" attributes run the risk of essentialising girls and fueling the binary opposition of "girls do this" and "boys do that" [100]. Girls are also not a homogenous group, and differences among girls might be as profound as those between girls and boys [42].…”

Section: -Rifat (Interview June 2015)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sciencey Girls: Discourses Supporting Working-Class Girls to Identify with Science

Godec

2018

Education Sciences

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Abstract:Women from working class and some ethnic minority backgrounds continue to be underrepresented in science, particularly in areas such as physical sciences and engineering. Many find it difficult to see science as something that is "for them", which then has implications for their learning and participation in science. In this paper, I discuss findings from a U.K.-based qualitative study with 15 working-class girls, aged 11 to 13, from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Data were collected over the course of one academic year, through interviews and discussion groups with the girls and interviews with their science teachers, and analysed through a post-structural gender lens. The paper foregrounds five science-identifying girls, who negotiated their identification and engagement with science through the following discursive strategies: (i) rendering gender invisible, (ii) drawing attention to the presence of women in science, (iii) reframing "science people" as caring and nurturing, and (iv) cultural discourses of desirability of science. The findings contribute to the understanding of how working class girls-who are often "othered" and constructed as "unintelligible" within the dominant discursive regime of prototypical science-find identification with science possible. The paper discusses the affordances and challenges of each discursive strategy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Section: -Rifat (Interview June 2015)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sciencey Girls: Discourses Supporting Working-Class Girls to Identify with Science

Godec

2018

Education Sciences

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“…Yet these countries which aspire to be the most gender equal societies in the world appear to be amongst the most entrenched in terms of under-representations of women in STEM education and careers [25]. Despite the large amount of research, initiatives and interventions aimed at increasing female participation in CS, in the USA alone the proportion of women majoring in CS has dropped from around 37% in 1984 to under 18% in 2013 3 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring societal factors affecting the experience and engagement of first year female computer science undergraduates

Sinclair

Kalvala

2015

Proceedings of the 15th Koli Calling Conference on Computing Education Research

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Despite computer science (CS) having many women associated with it historically, such as Ada Lovelace and Grace Hopper, the proportion of female students completing computing degrees is steadily declining, particularly in the USA, UK, and several other Western countries. Many initiatives have been attempted to address this gender imbalance, but the majority have proved to be ineffectual and difficult to sustain in the long term. One important step in the notorious shrinking participation pipeline for CS is the first year of a university degree. The transition from school to university can be a difficult time for many students and, for females in CS, issues of readjusting expectations and of developing their identity within a predominantly male cohort may present an additional challenge.In this paper, we analyse data from the North American National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and discuss gender-distinct perceptions of the discipline and factors relating to retention of students, particularly female students, within the context of a small UK survey of first-year students' expectations at the start of their studies. We suggest several areas emerging from the investigation which have implications for CS curricula and teaching practice.

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“…In order to create environments in which non-majority students can flourish, STEM departments must be willing to critically examine their culture, and separate the aspects that are truly tied to the scientific process, and those that are simply a product of the white, male, heteronormative culture that has been propagated without critical thought. In other words, they must be willing to adopt Lee's (1999) idea of "scientific biculturalism" and support students in embracing science and developing their science identities without forcing them to abandon their social and cultural identity (Hernandez et al 2013;Sinnes & Loken, 2012).…”

Section: Stem Fieldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

From chilly climate to warm reception : experiences and good practices for supporting LGBTQ students in STEM

Brinkworth

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Gendered education in a gendered world: looking beyond cosmetic solutions to the gender gap in science

Cited by 35 publications

References 9 publications

Sciencey Girls: Discourses Supporting Working-Class Girls to Identify with Science

Sciencey Girls: Discourses Supporting Working-Class Girls to Identify with Science

Exploring societal factors affecting the experience and engagement of first year female computer science undergraduates

From chilly climate to warm reception : experiences and good practices for supporting LGBTQ students in STEM

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