Having female role models correlates with PhD students’ attitudes toward their own academic success

Abstract

Research indicates that increasing diversity in doctoral programs can positively affect students’ academic success. However, little research examines students’ responses to female scholars’ representation. The two studies presented here examine how students’ exposure to female academic role models shapes students’ attitudes toward their own academic success (i.e. self-efficacy). Such attitudes are critical because they predict student retention rates. In our first study, we randomly exposed 297 Ph.D. students in one academic discipline to either a gender-diverse (i.e. 30% female authors) or non-diverse syllabus in research methods (i.e. 10% female authors). We examined the effect of the intervention on students’ perceived likelihood of succeeding in the hypothetical course. Contrary to expectations derived from the literature, we found that increasing women’s representation in syllabi did not affect female students’ self-efficacy. Rather, male students expressed lower self-efficacy when evaluating the more gender-diverse syllabus. We also found that students’ attitudes toward diversity in academia predicted their reactions more strongly than did their own gender: gender-diverse syllabi reduced self-efficacy among those students unsupportive of diversity. In our second study, we analyzed non-interventional survey questions to examine the relationship between female role models and long-term academic self-efficacy. Analysis was observational and thus did not assess causality. We found that students with more role models have higher academic self-efficacy, irrespective of student and role model gender. Nonetheless, results also suggested that some students actively seek female role models: namely, female students, and particularly those valuing diversity. Our results ultimately suggest that exposure to female role models relates in surprising ways to Ph.D. students’ self-efficacy. Having more female role models correlates with greater expectations of academic success among certain groups of students, but with diminished expectations of academic success among other groups.

Is Graduate School Worth It? Harassment and Graduate-Student Satisfaction in Political Science

“…Almasri, Read, and Vandeweerdt (2022) surveyed students in the top 10 programs and had a 47% response rate with 308 responses. Gillooly, Hardt, and Smith (2021) surveyed students in the top 50 programs and also recorded 308 responses.…”

“…In response to scandals around harassment and exploitation of graduate students, political scientists have decried the frequency of these issues (Hardt et al 2019; Mershon and Walsh 2016; Tolleson-Rinehart and Carroll 2006). Studies have highlighted the harm that discrimination causes graduate students (Almasri, Read, and Vanderweert 2022; Gillooly, Hardt, and Smith 2021; Hyder et al 2022; Mahmoudi 2021). Institutions have responded to scandals and graduate-student demands with programs to curtail discrimination in political science and to improve support in PhD programs.…”

Language Matters: The Study of Canadian Politics through an Exploration of Syllabi and Comprehensive Exams

“…Third, limited exposure to topics and work on Canadian politics could potentially affect the number of citations, which are highly relevant for promotion and visibility, and this would be unfair to those who produced the unquoted research. Fourth, students’ exposure, particularly at the undergraduate level, to scholars with whom they can identify might foster their interest in a given topic and influence their attitudes with respect to their academic success (Gillooly et al, 2021).…”

Taking Back the Narrative: Gendered Anti-Blackness in Predominantly White Schools of Social Work

“…Contrast this with the rising percentage of Black women enrolling in graduate education (7% in 2018) and receiving doctoral degrees (9.6% in 2017) (NCES, 2018). Considering the pivotal role of mentorship in doctoral education (see Gillooly et al, 2021), the absence of Black women faculty can significantly impact the ability for Black women doctoral students to be successful and graduate with their degrees. For example, a 2015 study examining doctoral student attrition by the Council of Graduate Schools found that Black doctoral students had the lowest attrition rates compared to doctoral students from other marginalized racial groups (Sowell et al, 2015).…”

“…Though significantly higher than the national average of TTT Black women faculty (2.1%) (June & O'Leary, 2021), when looking at the percentage of Black students, the majority of whom are Black women, enrolled in MSW (20.1%), Doctorate (35.8%), and PhD (22.1%) SW programs across the United States, this disparity becomes even more pronounced (CSWE, 2020a(CSWE, , 2020b. This suggests Black women doctoral students and junior faculty, in particular, have limited access and thus an opportunity for mentorship from Black women faculty, something scholars note as a contributing factor to overall success and well-being in academia (Edwards et al, 2012;Gillooly et al, 2021). The benefits of having more Black women faculty in PWSSW were reiterated in an analysis of survey data gathered from 108 Black women faculty.…”