Science and Engineering Programs On Target for Women? (1992) / Chapter Skim
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2 Interventions Defined, Implemented, and Evaluated
2 Interventions Defined, Implemented, and Evaluated
Pages 15-26
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From page 15... ...
A Brief History and Conceptual Framework In 1978 at Berkeley, Lucy Sells coined the expression "critical filter" to describe the role that high school mathematics preparation plays in the lives of women and minorities who are seeking to become scientists and to work in mathematics-based fields. She approached the staff at the Laurence Hall of Science and said, "This is a public problem and you are a public science center.
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From page 16... ...
Previous research has shown us that these factors tend to work in combination with each other; therefore, we know that a single intervention event is unlikely to change all of the factors involved. Rather, systemic change in a variety of areas is needed.
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From page 17... ...
He is using a very systematic approach to facing the system and procedures in order to be successful a very different approach toward cultivation of individual talent. A similar approach is being taken in the new federal initiative, National Science Scholars Program, which has designated that, from every Congressional District, one female and one male scholar will receive a scholarship for undergraduate study in a scientific discipline.
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From page 18... ...
As we develop programs in mathematics, science, and engineering to attract young women, it is essential that we recognize that not all males are served well by the existing system either and that many young men leave the educational system with the same stereotypes about women that intervention programs have spent considerable effort to debunk among their female peers. The Women in Engineering Program at Purdue University, building on a long track record of successful work with women, has begun to work u ith the men in engineering at Purdue in order to create a climate in which people more comfortably interact.
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From page 19... ...
First, we find isolated projects, which are most effective for creating awareness, for getting people to collect data, and for sorting out problem definition. A good example of an isolated project is an Expanding Your Horizons conference at which a group of people volunteer a day of their time to act as science and engineering role models.
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From page 20... ...
point out, this maturing of intervention programs moves from individual commitment (that is, one inspired person who rallies people together and either obtains soft money or works on a volunteer basis) and grows into hard money, line item and institutional budgets, and a strong institutional commitment.
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From page 21... ...
Notable differences were found for girls: 65 percent of African American girls expressed self-confidence at the elementary level, 59 percent at middle school, and 58 percent at high school; in fact, they have a slight edge on males, on average. However, the confidence level for white girls goes from 55 percent expressing confidence in themselves at elementary school, down to 29 percent at middle school, and 22 percent at high school.
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From page 22... ...
This phenomenon was described by Casserly in 1979 and is still regularly reported by school teachers and intervention program directors today. Certainly, at the undergraduate level, the self-confidence of highach~enng young women drops significantly compared to that of their male peers (Arnold, 1985~.
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From page 23... ...
Stated most simply, Keller's position is that if you only change the students to fit the existing system, you have "Dress-For-Success" science, whereby students and professionals may look the part by wearing lab coats and conducting experiments but are not full members of the scientific community. In the short term this is not a bad strategy: at the University of California-Irvine, Eloy Rodriquez dresses migrant youngsters in lab coats and brings them into the laboratory.
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From page 24... ...
We must target more than just the transition points. Many intervention strategies have targeted transition points to make sure that students get into the right college preparatory sequence in high school; they are admitted to the university; they seriously look at the majors that will lead to career opportunities; and they get into graduate programs.
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From page 25... ...
Attempting systemic change using these methods is virtually impossible. Collaborative strategies implemented by coalitions of administrators, faculty, and community leaders both within an institution and among institutions are needed to begin to build the ultimate intervention programs—the ones that can resolve the disparity in science, mathematics, and engineering for women and men, once and for all.
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From page 26... ...
Invited presentation for the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference, "Women in Science and Engineering: Changing Vision to Reality." Ann Arbor, MI. American Association of University Women (AAUW)
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