CAREER: STEMing the Tide: Changing Educational Environments to Enhance Girls' and Women's Participation in Science and Mathematics

职业：扭转潮流：改变教育环境以提高女孩和妇女对科学和数学的参与

• 批准号: 0547967
• 负责人: Nilanjana Dasgupta
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Massachusetts Amherst
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-03-15 至 2011-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0547967&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; STEMing; Tide; Changing; Educational

In the past thirty years, a national debate had been brewing about the scarcity of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (or STEM), and its grave implications for the American workforce in the 21st century. Starting in middle school and continuing through college, girls and women often perform less well than boys and men on standardized tests in science and mathematics; they feel less confident about their ability in these disciplines and are less likely to pursue them in the future. Although the sex disparity in STEM participation is an undisputed reality, the reasons for this disparity are hotly debated. This research offers a new theoretical model that identifies the conditions under which educational environments, and the people within it, enhance versus constrain female students' intellectual capital. Three research questions emerge from this model. First, does the gender composition of STEM-related educational environments (e.g., the low proportion of female peers, teachers, and experts) create STEM stereotypes such that these disciplines become associated with maleness instead of remaining gender neutral? Second, do individual differences in the acquisition of such stereotypes predict female students' attitudes toward STEM, identification with STEM, performance, and academic choices? Third, can changes in the gender composition of academic environments reduce STEM stereotypes and enhance women's liking for, identification with, and participation in STEM? This research, which necessitates symbiotic relationships among research, education, and teaching, will use multiple methods (e.g., lab, field, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies) and samples (e.g., adolescents and young adults) to provide a comprehensive test of the research questions. The overarching goal of this project is to broaden girls' and women's participation in STEM throughresearch and educational activities described in this proposal. To this end, all of the studies conducted as part of this research involve the participation of girls and women who are typically underrepresented in STEM; these students also serve as research participants and research assistants. Findings that emerge from this project will be disseminated back to the same student population as part of their science education. The PI has forged collaborations with a middle school, teacher training program, and two organizations that bring together STEM teachers, students, and administrators. These collaborations will enable the PI to disseminate research findings to teachers, teachers-in-training, school principals, four-year colleges, and community colleges.

在过去的30年里，一场关于女性在科学、技术、工程和数学（简称STEM）领域的稀缺及其对21世纪美国劳动力的严重影响的全国性辩论一直在酝酿之中。从中学到大学，在科学和数学的标准化测试中，女孩和女人的表现往往不如男孩和男人；他们对自己在这些学科中的能力缺乏信心，也不太可能在未来继续深造。尽管STEM参与的性别差异是不争的事实，但造成这种差异的原因却备受争议。本研究提供了一个新的理论模型，以确定在何种条件下，教育环境和教育环境中的人会增强或限制女学生的智力资本。从这个模型中产生了三个研究问题。首先，与STEM相关的教育环境的性别构成（例如，女性同伴、教师和专家的比例低）是否造成了STEM的刻板印象，从而使这些学科与男性联系在一起，而不是保持性别中立？第二，获得这些刻板印象的个体差异是否可以预测女学生对STEM的态度、对STEM的认同、表现和学术选择？第三，学术环境性别构成的变化能否减少对STEM的刻板印象，增强女性对STEM的喜爱、认同和参与？这项研究需要研究、教育和教学之间的共生关系，将使用多种方法（如实验室、实地、横断面和纵向研究）和样本（如青少年和年轻人）对研究问题进行全面测试。该项目的总体目标是通过本提案中描述的研究和教育活动，扩大女童和妇女对STEM的参与。为此，作为本研究的一部分进行的所有研究都涉及在STEM中通常代表性不足的女孩和妇女的参与；这些学生还担任研究参与者和研究助理。从这个项目中得出的发现将作为科学教育的一部分传播给同样的学生群体。PI已经与一所中学、教师培训项目和两个将STEM教师、学生和管理人员聚集在一起的组织建立了合作关系。这些合作将使PI能够将研究成果传播给教师、在职教师、校长、四年制大学和社区大学。