National Academies Press: OpenBook

Fulfilling the Promise: Biology Education in the Nation's Schools (1990)

Chapter: Appendix F: Programs Targeted to Women and Members of Minority Groups

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix F: Programs Targeted to Women and Members of Minority Groups." National Research Council. 1990. Fulfilling the Promise: Biology Education in the Nation's Schools. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1533.
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Page 137
Suggested Citation:"Appendix F: Programs Targeted to Women and Members of Minority Groups." National Research Council. 1990. Fulfilling the Promise: Biology Education in the Nation's Schools. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1533.
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Page 138
Suggested Citation:"Appendix F: Programs Targeted to Women and Members of Minority Groups." National Research Council. 1990. Fulfilling the Promise: Biology Education in the Nation's Schools. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1533.
×
Page 139
Suggested Citation:"Appendix F: Programs Targeted to Women and Members of Minority Groups." National Research Council. 1990. Fulfilling the Promise: Biology Education in the Nation's Schools. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1533.
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Page 140

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APPENDIX F PROGRAMS TARGETED TO WOMEN AND MEMBERS OF MINORITY GROUPS The following are examples of programs intended to encourage women and members of minority groups to choose careers in the sciences. This compilation is not exhaustive, and much still needs to be done to recruit from groups that have not traditionally chosen science careers, but these examples show the range and types of resources currently available. Carnegie Corporation of New York The Carnegie Corporation of New York has sponsored numerous activities designed to improve the education of women and minority-group members. Grants have been awarded to a variety of organizations the American Associ- ation for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the National Urban Coalition, Fundacion Educativa Ana G. Mendez, Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, Arizona State University, the Science Museum of Con- necticut, the Center for Applied Linguistics, the Center for Women Policy Studies, and the Institute for Educational Leadership-to promote equity and to prepare and motivate students to pursue and succeed in college mathematics and science-based courses. Some of the college programs are designed to mo- bilize community-based black and Hispanic parents' organizations in support of improved mathematics and science education for minority-group children. Others focus on middle- and high-school students. Still others are designed to build networks of colleges, community-based organizations, and professional associations to increase the access of women and minority-group members to higher education (Carnegie Corporation of New York, 1988~. Funds for similar activities are also available from Apple Computer, the College Board, the Ford Foundation, the J.N. Pew Jr. Charitable Trust, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. C)ne recent example of an initiative to enhance exposure of minority-group children to science and mathematics is that of the National Urban Coalition (NUC). Recognizing that parents' fear of mathematics and science often affects students' interest in these subjects, NUC, under the sponsorship of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and others, has initiated a program that brings families together to participate in mathematics activities. The Say YES to a Youngster's Future program, now in its second year, targets teachers, children, and parents. Using mathematics materials developed by the Lawrence Hall of Science, teachers work with students and their parents. Family involvement is a vital part of the program, and children learn with their parents, siblings, or volunteer surrogate family members. NUC is working with the Lawrence Hall of Science to develop science curricula for the Say YES project. An important component of both the math- ematics and science projects is "cultural connections," historical information that links advances in science and mathematics to the ancestry of minority 137

138 APPENDIX F groups, primarily blacks and Hispanics. For example, cultural connections in- clude references to African theoretical mathematics, the African stone game, Egyptian and Mexican pyramids, the Mayan number system, and Mayan and Aztec calendars (National Urban Coalition, 1989~. The goal of NUC's project is to involve students in science and mathematics at an early age and, with the help and encouragement of family members, to sustain the interest. Although the NUC program is only in its second year, preliminary indications of the success of the program include observations that students are more motivated to become involved in extracurricular activities, that students show a greater level of participation in other classroom activities (e.g., spelling and geography bees), that there is greater student participation in science fairs, that test scores in mathematics have increased, and that teachers involved in the program have gone back to school to supplement their own knowledge of science and mathematics. Other reservoirs of talent are black churches and black fraternal organiza- tions. Project Linkages, a Carnegie-funded project at AAAS, has used black churches in efforts to retain black children in the science-engineering pipeline, and black fraternal organizations have a strong service orientation. Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) recognizes the need to attract minority-group students and women to careers in biomedical science. As one of its initiatives in undergraduate education, support is being given to colleges for high-school outreach programs. In 1988, 44 private 4-year colleges and historically black institutions were awarded grants to be used to prepare students for graduate education and for careers in research, teaching, or the practice of medicine. Ten of the 44 institutions that were awarded grants were historically black colleges or universities, and four were women's colleges. Among the projects to be supported are appointment of new faculty members and activities to develop faculty, curricular development and the acquisition of laboratory equipment, support of scientific research of faculty and students working in collaboration, academic development and scholarships for students in the sciences, and expansion and development of new linkages with teachers and students from high schools, junior high schools, and elementary schools (Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 1989~. In 1989, HHMI awarded grants focusing on colleges affiliated with doctorate-granting institutions. Support has been given for faculty, students, curricular development, and science outreach programs that strengthen the in- teraction of applicant institutions with other academic institutions, including not only 2- and 4-year colleges, but also elementary and secondary schools. Many of the applicant institutions have proposed initiatives to attract more minority-group members and women to careers in the biosciences through aca- demic counseling, research and teaching assistantships, and sustained contact with senior research faculty in biology and related fields. Other programs are intended to offer summer institutes for biology teachers from schools with sizable minority-group populations. Outreach programs will focus on attracting

APPENDIX F 139 minority-group students from neighboring community colleges to transfer to university science departments. Other programs will offer summer research assistantships for students in university laboratories (Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19891. Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation sponsors programs developed specifically to attract minority-group students to the sciences. Ford Foundation doctoral and post- doctoral fellowships are designed to increase the presence of underrepresented minorities in the nation's college and university faculties. The Ford Foundation offers doctoral fellowships to members of six minority groups most severely underrepresented in the nation's Ph.D. population Alaskan natives (Eskimo or Aleut), native American Indians, black Americans, Mexican Americans, native Pacific islanders (Polynesian or Micronesian), and Puerto Ricans. Awards are made for study in research-based doctoral programs in the behavioral and social sciences, humanities, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, and biologi- cal sciences or for interdisciplinary programs comprising two or more eligible disciplines (Ford Foundation, 1988~. National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) minority-group graduate fellow- ship program was instituted to increase the number of practicing scientists and engineers who are members of ethnic minority groups that traditionally have been underrepresented in the nation's pool of scientists and engineers. The fellowships are awarded for study and research leading to master's or doctoral degrees in the mathematical, physical, biological, engineering, and social sci- ences and in the history and philosophy of science. Awards are also made for work toward a research-based Ph.D. in science education (National Science Foundation, 1988a,b). NSF, through its Directorate for Science and Engineering Education, also sponsors activities to address the underrepresentation of women, minority-group members, and persons with disabilities. Support to set up regional centers for minority-group members and to develop prototype and model projects for women, minor~ty-group members, and persons with disabilities is channeled through universities, colleges, and organizations with substantial enrollments of minority-group students in science and engineering and a demonstrated history of commitment to minority-group concerns (National Science Foundation, 1988c). References Carnegie Corporation of New York. 1988. The List of Grants and Appropriations of 1988. New York, N.Y.: Carnegie Corporation of New York. Ford Foundation. 1988. Ford Foundation Predoctoral and Dissertation Fellowships for Minorities. Program Announcement 1989. Washington, D.C.: National Research Council.

140 APPENDIX F Howard Hughes Medical Institute. 1989. Grants Program Policies and Awards 1988- 1989. Rockville, Md.: Howard Hughes Medical Institute. National Science Foundation. 1988a. 1989 Announcement for NSF Graduate Research Fellowships. Washington, D.C.: National Science Foundation. National Science Foundation. 1988b. 1989 Announcement for NSF Minority Graduate Research Fellowships. Washington, D.C.: National Science Foundation. National Science Foundation. 1988c. Guide to Programs. Fiscal Year 1989. Washing- ton, D.C.: National Science Foundation. National Urban Coalition. 1989. Miscellaneous "Say Yes" materials. Washington, D.C.

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Why are students today not learning biology, appreciating its importance in their lives, or pursuing it as a career? Experts believe dismal learning experiences in biology classes are causing the vast majority of students to miss information that could help them lead healthier lives and make more intelligent decisions as adults. How can we improve the teaching of biology throughout the school curriculum? Fulfilling the Promise offers a vision of what biology education in our schools could be—along with practical, hard-hitting recommendations on how to make that vision a reality. Noting that many of their recommended changes will be controversial, the authors explore in detail the major questions that must be answered to bring biology education to an acceptable standard: how elementary, middle, and high-school biology education arrived at its present state; what impediments stand in the way of improving biology education; how to properly prepare biology teachers and encourage their continuing good performance; and what type of leadership is needed to improve biology education.

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