Why Are There So Few Women in Physics? Reflections on the Experiences of Two Women

Doucette, Danny; Singh, Chandralekha

doi:10.1119/1.5145518

Cited by 35 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Introduction: Physics has historically been portrayed as a field for brilliant men. Many prior studies have focused on the reasons for women's underrepresentation in physics and related disciplines from different perspectives and strategies to improve the learning environments so that all students can excel in physics courses [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. Due to societal stereotypes, women often have significantly lower physics self-efficacy than men even when they perform similarly and many shy away from physics related majors and careers [5,6,9,13].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

How Perception of Being Recognized or Not Recognized by Instructors as a “Physics Person” Impacts Male and Female Students’ Self-Efficacy and Performance

Whitcomb

Singh

2020

The Physics Teacher

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We discuss a study in a first year college introductory physics course for physical science and engineering majors that shows that women, on average, feel less recognized by their physics instructors than men as students who can excel in physics. We also discuss how this lack of perceived positive recognition pertaining to physics can adversely affect their self-efficacy and performance in the course. We recommend that physics instructors not be parsimonious in their praise of students and make a conscious effort to positively recognize their students for their effort and progress whenever an opportunity arises. Interviews with female students suggest that instructors should be careful not to give unintended messages to students, e.g., by praising some students for brilliance or intelligence as opposed to their effort because praising a student for brilliance can convey to other students that they do not have what is required to excel in physics. Interviews also suggest that when students ask instructors for help on physics problems, if instructors inadvertently label those problems as "easy", "trivial" or "obvious", it can also make students feel disparaged. The perception of being belittled by these kinds of unintended comments by instructors as well as a lack of positive recognition for good effort and progress have the potential to most adversely impact students from underrepresented groups including women.

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confidence: 99%

How Perception of Being Recognized or Not Recognized by Instructors as a “Physics Person” Impacts Male and Female Students’ Self-Efficacy and Performance

Whitcomb

Singh

2020

The Physics Teacher

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“…Meanwhile, on the other side of the table, Dan and Cindy's interaction typifies some patterns of gendered interaction in physics, including men getting more attention and more access to equipment [14], [15], [18], [31]- [33]. For example, Dan's possession of the mouse makes the mouse initially inaccessible to Cindy.…”

Section: Critical Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Centering and marginalization in introductory university physics courses

Scherr¹,

Hairston²,

McKagan³

2020

2020 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings

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Research-based instructional strategies in physics promote active participation in collaborative activities as a primary means for students to construct understanding. This emphasis is in line with situated learning theory, in which learning is indicated by a student's increasing centrality in a community. In both perspectives, to learn more is to engage more centrally: to start discussions, conduct experiments, write on the board, decide when a question has been answered, and so on. In a study of small-group collaborative learning activities in introductory physics classrooms at three different universities, we observe that as students engage with one another and with instructors, they are not only negotiating physics concepts, but also negotiating social positioning. Some students are centered (and their contributions are valued), while others are marginalized (and their contributions are neglected). The aim of this research is to become conscious of how centering and marginalization shape the way physics is taught and learned.

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“…It is through student interviews that we uncover a contextual understanding of how women experience and navigate the physics culture. Previous studies that utilize student interviews revealed that women in physics and astronomy experience hostile environments within physics departments [29,30]. In this study, we interview three undergraduate women who are physics majors.…”

Section: Introduction and Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Negative impacts of an unwelcoming physics environment on undergraduate women

Santana¹,

Singh²

2021

2021 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings

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This research focuses on the experiences of three undergraduate white women who are physics and astronomy majors. Specifically we conducted semi-structured, empathetic interviews which reveal how uncomfortable physics environments inside and outside of the classroom exclude undergraduate women. The women give accounts of the behaviors of their male peers and instructors that influenced the physics culture. We use standpoint theory to focus on the experiences of undergraduate women to provide a holistic perspective of physics as well as identify key issues that these women faced in their undergraduate physics program and potential strategies to implement in the future to support undergraduate women in physics and astronomy. Some of their suggestions include providing mentoring for women, holding members of the department accountable, providing feedback for instructors, and training sessions.

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Why Are There So Few Women in Physics? Reflections on the Experiences of Two Women

Cited by 35 publications

References 21 publications

How Perception of Being Recognized or Not Recognized by Instructors as a “Physics Person” Impacts Male and Female Students’ Self-Efficacy and Performance

How Perception of Being Recognized or Not Recognized by Instructors as a “Physics Person” Impacts Male and Female Students’ Self-Efficacy and Performance

Centering and marginalization in introductory university physics courses

Negative impacts of an unwelcoming physics environment on undergraduate women

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