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

在过去的30年里，一场关于科学、技术、工程和数学(或STEM)领域女性稀缺及其对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。从中学开始，一直到大学，女孩和女性在科学和数学的标准化考试中的表现往往不如男孩和男性；她们对自己在这些学科的能力缺乏信心，未来也不太可能追求这些能力。尽管STEM参与率的性别差异是一个不争的事实，但造成这种差异的原因却引起了激烈的争论。这项研究提供了一个新的理论模型，确定了教育环境和教育环境中的人在什么条件下增强或抑制了女学生的智力资本。从这个模型中出现了三个研究问题。首先，与STEM相关的教育环境的性别构成(例如，女性同龄人、教师和专家的比例很低)是否造成了STEM的陈规定型观念，使这些学科变得与男性有关，而不是保持性别中立？第二，这种刻板印象习得的个体差异是否能预测女生对STEM的态度、对STEM的认同感、成绩和学业选择？第三，学术环境性别构成的变化能否减少STEM的刻板印象，提高女性对STEM的喜好、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(例如，实验室、现场、横断面和纵向研究)和样本(例如，青少年和年轻人)来提供对研究问题的全面测试。该项目的总体目标是通过本提案中所述的研究和教育活动，扩大女孩和妇女参与STEM的范围。为此，作为这项研究的一部分进行的所有研究都涉及女孩和妇女的参与，这些女孩和妇女在STEM中的代表性通常较低；这些学生还担任研究参与者和研究助理。这个项目的发现将作为科学教育的一部分，传回给同样的学生群体。PI与一所中学、教师培训项目和两个组织建立了合作关系，将STEM教师、学生和管理人员聚集在一起。这些合作将使PI能够向教师、受训教师、学校校长、四年制学院和社区学院传播研究成果。

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.