The literature on gender and science shows that scientific careers continue to be characterised – albeit with important differences among countries – by strong gender discriminations, especially in more prestigious positions. Much less investigated is the issue of which stage in the career such differences begin to show up. Gender and Precarious Research Careers aims to advance the debate on the process of precarisation in higher education and its gendered effects, and springs from a three-year research project across institutions in seven European countries: Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Iceland, Switzerland, Slovenia and Austria. Examining gender asymmetries in academic and research organisations, this insightful volume focuses particularly on early careers. It centres both on STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and SSH (Social Science and Humanities) fields. Offering recommendations to design innovative organisational policies and self-tailored 'Gender Equality Plans' to be implemented in universities and research centres, this volume will appeal to students and researchers interested in fields such as Gender Studies, Sociology of Work and Industry, Sociology of Knowledge, Business Studies and Higher Education.
Role of the MSEIP grant in the success of STEM undergraduate research at Queensborough Community College and beyond -- Enhancing student engagement with peer-led team learning and course-based undergraduate research experiences -- Aiming toward an effective Hispanic serving chemistry curriculum -- Computational chemistry and biology courses for undergraduates at an HBCU : cultivating a diverse computational science community -- NanoHU : a boundary-spanning education model for maximizing human and intellectual capital -- Design and implementation of a STEM student success program at Grambling State University -- The role of the ReBUILDetroit Scholars Program at Wayne State University in broadening participation in STEM -- "Using scholars programs to enhance success of underrepresented students in chemistry, biomedical sciences, and STEM" -- The MARC U*STAR Program at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) 1997-2018 -- Pathways to careers in science, engineering, and math -- Leadership dimensions for broadening participation in STEM : the role of HBCUs and MSIs -- Bloom where you are planted : a model for campus climate change to retain minoritzed faculty scholars in STEM fields -- Maximizing mentoring : enhancing the impact of mentoring programs and initiatives through the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Faculty Development at Xavier University of Louisiana -- Mentors, mentors everywhere : weaving informal and formal mentoring into a robust chemical sciences mentoring quilt -- Using technology to foster peer mentoring relationships : development of a virtual peer mentorship model for broadening participation in STEM.
There is national attention and concern from industry leaders, educators and politicians that the United States will not be able to maintain its competitive edge due to the lack of students prepared for careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) (Hurtado et al., 2008; Kuenzi et al., 2006; Kuenzi, 2008; Laursen et al., 2010). Student-faculty research, such as is done during an undergraduate research experience (URE), has been shown to be a high impact activity leading to greater student interest in STEM careers. A closer look is needed to get an idea of what types of experiences during UREs impact a students interest in persisting into a STEM field career and to understand what are the key mechanisms of the experience that make it meaningful. The findings in this study add to the literature by exploring participants views of the undergraduate research experience at non-doctoral-granting universities and by supporting the idea that UREs can be effective in these settings as well. Further, this study puts forward a theoretical explanation about how and why UREs promote a students interest in persisting to a STEM field career. The purpose of this qualitative study using critical incidents was to identify experiences during a URE that students perceived to encourage or deter their interest in pursuing a STEM field career following graduation and to identify causal mechanisms for why these experiences made a difference in their interest. This study was designed to use a qualitative approach consisting of individual interviews and a focus group with a total of 31 participants from three institutions to identify and come to a more complex, multi-layered understanding of the undergraduate research experience. A card sorting technique where participants assigned each card to the encouraged an interest, deterred an interest, neither encouraged nor deterred an interest, or did not experience category was used initially to generate a conversation about what individual experiences that students perceive encourage or deter them from pursuing a STEM field career following graduation. Follow-up interview questions guided the participant in explaining the incident and how and why it impacted their interest in a STEM field career following graduation. Findings of the study indicate that all participants began their URE with an interest in science. No one set of critical incidents was identified to encourage or deter an interest as the same incident could have positive and negative outcomes. Because of the initial strong interest in science, incidents identified in the literature as deterring an interest in STEM often served to help participants refine the field or topic in STEM they wanted to pursue rather than causing them to leave STEM altogether. The individual critical incidents during the URE in totality, not individually, had an impact on participants interest in pursuing a STEM field career. It is a combination of multiple experiences or events that help students gain a greater sense of self and to refine career and research opportunities. The main contribution of this study is a theoretical model of the mechanisms by which a variety of incidents during a URE can impact an interest in STEM. This model identifies underlying causal mechanisms on how UREs can promote an interest in STEM. The model is similar to a grounded theory model in that it highlights student characteristics, contextual factors, mechanisms, and outcomes that help to refine STEM field career interest. The URE incidents in totality provide mechanisms resulting in outcomes that refine a career interest in STEM. As all participants were still involved in their URE, this study is limited in that we do not know with any certainty if the participants will enter a STEM field career. Future research designed with a longitudinal time frame could follow participants throughout the URE then into their career thus allowing greater understanding as to why some students may choose to leave the STEM pipeline. In-depth case studies would allow for testing of the conceptual model to identify turning points in an interest in a STEM field career and how interests in a STEM field career are refined. Further, case studies would allow researchers to compare the conceptual model in different settings. The goals of UREs can be advanced in settings where there is a central organizing office on campus that makes visible that the institution values research and STEM and creates opportunities where students can to connect to a wider community of researchers. Faculty mentors guiding UREs can advance a commitment to pursue science by continually articulating the importance and wider social significance of the research. Further, faculty mentors play an invaluable role by providing information about the range of opportunities to pursue research, connect students with other research, and encourage URE student attendance at professional conferences in order to begin identification with a wider community of like-minded individuals. ; Ph. D. ; Educators, industry leaders and politicians are concerned about the lack of students prepared for STEM field careers and the United States being able to maintain its competitive edge globally. One opportunity to prepare students for STEM field careers is through student-faculty research, such as is done during an undergraduate research experience (URE). This study was designed to identify and understand critical incidents in undergraduate research experiences that students perceive to encourage or deter their interest in pursuing a STEM field career following graduation and to identify why these experiences made a difference in their interest. An incident sorting process was used to identify individual experiences that students perceive encourage or deter them from pursuing a STEM field career following graduation. Participant interviews and a focus group were conducted to understand how and why the identified experiences had a bearing on the student deciding to pursue a STEM field career following graduation. Findings of the study indicate that incidents during the URE combined, not individually, had an impact on participants interest in pursuing a STEM field career.
This paper focuses on the need to build a solid foundation of skills which the future maritime workforce can build on to provide the innovation and exploitation of new technologies that the Royal Navy requires. This need sits within the wider strategic context of the national engineering skills shortage, reflected recently in the EngineeringUK report: 'The State of Engineering 2018.' The report forecasts as a conservative estimate an average shortfall in engineering graduates (level 4+) of 22,000, with the impact of Brexit upon these figures yet to be determined (the UK relies on attracting talent from the EU and beyond to help meet current shortfalls). The situation regarding Level 3 – A levels, Highers, and Advanced apprenticeships reflects a similar shortfall. This issue is exacerbated by the fact that only 12% of engineering and technology employees in the UK are women; highlighting that access and availability, including gender diversity remains a challenge for this sector. It is against that backdrop, that the MOD, is collaborating across many areas; one specifically being on inspiring the next generation to undertake Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics(STEM) as subjects of choice initially, moving thereafter onto more informed careers awareness and ultimately onto career options. Such foundation building is manifest in Defence's Youth STEM engagement strategy which is whole force by design, with several major developments to date following its launch in 2016, including the establishment of formal strategic partnerships with three national STEM outreach providers; notably: Primary Engineer; Tomorrows Engineer (replicated by Energy Skills Partnership in Scotland) and STEM Learning (replicated by SSERC in Scotland) each with niche capabilities. They sit alongside all four Services within Defence and key other government departments including the devolved administration in Scotland, in the form of an implementation group to take the strategy forward. The purpose is to inspire sufficient young ...
In his work entitled "The Gender in U.S. School Reform," William Pinar makes clear that teaching is a profession that is gendered female in the political imaginary of the U.S. In truth, more and more teachers are expected to take responsibility for the learning in their classroom in the same way that the wife in the nuclear family was blamed if her children failed in some way, regardless of the participation (or lack thereof) by the children's father in their upbringing. The great lamentation of politicians and parents in the U.S. over the decline of the education system, and the "lack of relevance" of "brick and mortar" schools is surely related to this "problem" of the feminine. Enter stage right mathematics and science, subjects largely pursued by males and the requirement, it can be argued, of many professions engendered male (Langille, 1993; Pegley, 2007). Mathematics, science and technology are lauded as important pursuits by many, and this is reinforced, among other things, by government initiatives (e.g. STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and college and university entrance requirements worldwide – for better or for worse (Hacker, 2012). There is much work being done, as we will see, by educators and researchers, government initiatives and private corporations, to encourage girls to pursue careers in mathematics, science and technology – as if, somehow, their lack of engagement in these fields is the penultimate problem we face. With the gendered history of education, one can not help but wonder: Is STEM being strongly encouraged worldwide with the (un?)intended purpose of "rescuing" education, the damsel in distress? Two recent initiatives that are intent on increasing girls' engagement with STEM related fields were fraught with harmful assumptions about gender, and point to the heroism perceived characteristic of these subjects with respect to education. I will examine these initiatives. ; Education, Faculty of ; Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of ; Unreviewed ; Graduate
The present article aims to study employment inequalities from a double dynamic perspective. It deals with the study of turning points in career paths in order to understand, first, the process of exclusion from the labor market, second, the increase in long-term unemployment over time. I mobilize the approach of economics of convention, which accounts for the processes of selection by focusing on moments of quality valuations in "tests" (valorizations and devalorizations). I use qualitative data from 60 biographical interviews with French unemployed people to build a typology of conventional labor worlds based on mixed methods: quantitative lexical analysis with the software ALCESTE and qualitative analysis of the interviews. The empirical analysis reveals the existence of plural logics of coordination and valuation of work's quality, which can be connected to the different segments of the labor market brought out by the labor market segmentation theory. The processes of exclusion differ from one segment to another and are the result of specific tests and of interactions with specific intermediaries. The "critical transitions" often stem from a tension between different registers of valuation. However, some experiences go beyond these discontinuities. Some changes in recruitment conventions, that become dominant, are at the origin of a "denial of evaluation" and of the development of an "unemployment of exclusion."
Las desigualdades en la elección de las carreras universitarias y, particularmente en las carreras STEM, sigue siendo en la actualidad uno de los espacios en donde se visibilizan los diferenciales de género. Este trabajo aborda de forma reflexiva los diferentes contextos que promueven estas diferencias y limitan el desarrollo académico y profesional de las mujeres en las carreras STEM. A través de análisis de los diversos estudios e investigaciones actuales que dan una perspectiva sobre el panorama europeo y su constatación en los informes emitidos por la Unión Europea se sigue constatando estas preocupantes brechas de género y la elección a estos estudios universitarios en las áreas STEM. Las propuestas que presentamos en este trabajo pueden contribuir a la mejora de igualdad de oportunidades para el empoderamiento de las mujeres en las profesiones de carácter técnico-científico. ; Inequalities in the choice of university careers and, particularly in STEM careers, continue to be one of the spaces where gender differentials are visible. This work approaches in a reflexive way the different contexts that promote these differences and limit the academic and professional development of women in STEM careers. Through analysis of the various current studies and research that give a perspective on the European panorama and its verification in the reports issued by the European Union, these worrying gender gaps and the election to these university studies in the STEM areas are still evident. The proposals that we present in this work can contribute to the improvement of equal opportunities for the empowerment of women in the technical-scientific professions.
Gender affects all aspects of life, and the working and learning environment of science, technology, engineering and geosciences presents no exception. Gender issues concerning access, permanence and ascension of women in exact and earth sciences careers, in general, relates between other causes, to the underrepresentation of women in science communications, sexual or moral harassment caused by professors and colleagues during undergraduate and graduate ages, or the overload of housework for girls, when compared to boys, during early school ages. In other words, gender imbalance in science and technology careers may be seen as the result of a series of structured oppression suffered by women of all ages. In this context, we propose the development of an education package designed to understand these processes at different levels. One of the tools of this package is known as the Theatre of the Oppressed. Elaborated by Augusto Boal in the 1970s, the Theatre of the Oppressed uses theatre techniques as means of promoting social and political changes. Usually, a scene takes place, revealing an oppression situation. The audience becomes what is called spect-actors, where they become active by exploring, showing, and transforming the reality in which they are living. In the context of gender issues in exact sciences careers, the students can stage situations that reveal subtle actions of power relations that usually put women in subservience places. Our experience showed that even though the acting is fiction, the spectators learn much from the enactment, because the simulation of real-life situations, problems, and solutions stimulates the practice of resistance to oppression in reality, within a condition that offers a safe space for practising making a change. The package also includes a set of laboratory routines based on the work of female scientists, directed to students from 12 to 18 years old. The idea of the labs is to work as a school reinforcement on natural sciences disciplines, and to give visibility to women in science, improving issues such as underrepresentation and mistrust in women work. We show the evaluation of learning efficiency by assessing the results of a quiz.
This article analyses how the growing instability and uncertainty in the Italian academic system intersect the mechanisms that reproduce gender disadvantages in scientific careers. More precisely, it focuses on how job instability influence career chances among male and female PhD holders at the very beginning of their career in STEM disciplines, paying attention to the mechanisms that foster the exclusion from the academic system. On the base of the results of the Doctorate Holders' Vocational Integration survey, conducted by ISTAT in 2014, and of a qualitative organisational case study conducted in an Italian STEM department, working conditions and career strategies of male and female early stages researchers are explored adopting both an objective and a subjective perspective. The analyses point out that the current precarisation of scientific careers does not seem to scratch and/or undermine the organisational culture in the Italian universities, which relies on a traditional gender model.
In many areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), and despite attempts by governments and other agencies to address the issue, females remain significantly underrepresented. Research has shown that parents play a significant role in shaping the aspirations of children with regard to higher education. However, there is a paucity of research exploring the particular influence of parents on the aspirations of children towards STEM. Drawing on data from a four-year mixed-method longitudinal study conducted with students (N = 6,492) in Years 3 to 12 from the Australian state of New South Wales, we examine parent data (survey and focus groups) for those students who expressed an interest in pursuing STEM studies and careers. Students who expressed an interest in STEM were typically high achieving and just over 90% of their parents had aspirations for them to attend university although this was proportionally higher for sons than for daughters. Even when parents created a supportive environment, there was little evidence indicating that girls were encouraged to pursue STEM. This analysis highlights the complexity and importance of parental influences on student aspirations. When exploring strategies aimed at encouraging students to consider pathways into STEM, we argue that educational institutions should consider ways of actively involving parents in order to counter stereotypical gendered views of STEM and to expand the range of possibilities considered by both girls and boys.
In today's society of global economic competition, environmental concerns, and the race to explore outer space, the study of mathematics and science has reached the forefront of educational goals around the world. The gap between the number of STEM professionals in the United States and other countries is closing. To address this occurrence, private organizations, businesses, and government agencies are teaming up with schools to promote the study of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses. This research investigates the High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware (HUNCH) program, an innovative school-based partnership between public schools and NASA, with the educational goal of motivating students to study and pursue careers in STEM areas. To evaluate the HUNCH program, this research takes a mixed-method approach that collects data quantitatively from an analysis of student responses on a Student Interests and Motivation in Science Questionnaire (SIMSQ) and qualitatively from an analysis of focus groups and individual student interviews of HUNCH participants. This research answers the following questions: (1) How do students who participate in HUNCH programs perceive STEM HUNCH courses and other STEM courses? (2) How do students who participate in HUNCH programs perceive STEM related careers? (3) What learning experiences do HUNCH students describe as motivating them toward pursuing courses and careers in STEM areas? (4) Do students who have fewer than two semesters in HUNCH perceive STEM courses and careers differently than students who have participated in three or more semesters in HUNCH? By investigating the HUNCH program, this research helps to identify the benefits of secondary schools teaming up with professional organizations, such as NASA, with the hope of encouraging and influencing the creation of new innovative school-based partnerships.
The Misdirection of Education Policy poses critically important questions about the wisdom of American public education policy and reform initiatives. The approach suggested here is designed to offer an arterial that allows students and teachers to do more than simply prepare for STEM careers; it advocates for an education that helps people navigate life by becoming explorers who remain curious and analytical about their world.
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AbstractThis paper explores the range of initiatives offered across Australia to support the attraction, retention and progression of girls and women to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies and careers. A mapping exercise, conducted by the author as part of the development of the Decadal Plan for Women in STEM for the Australian Academy of Science, provided an overview of 337 programmes and initiatives offered nationally, the majority of which were university scholarships. Academia, industry and government are the main providers of these initiatives, with collaborations common between all the different stakeholder groups identified. Of all the initiatives mapped, only seven had publicly facing evaluation data, of which one went beyond self‐reports of satisfaction and enjoyment. The myriad initiatives show a concerted effort to engage girls and women in STEM, but the absence of any meaningful evidence of impact means we simply do not know whether these initiatives are benefiting girls and women and achieving the desired policy outcomes or not.
In this article, we report on an 11-year study that explores approaches to improve student success in college by a five-week summer program in Mathematics and Language Arts for entering freshmen. To recruit students into the program, we invited students accepted at the university and listed as underrepresented and economically disadvantaged (Pell-eligible) by the Office of Institutional Research at California State University, Northridge. The program consisted of all-day Math and English enhancement in mixed ability groups. Results of this program examining Math and English performance at California State University, Northridge showed that students completing the summer programs during the 11-year study period had improved pass rates in Math and English at California State University, Northridge compared with students in a control group who did not participate in the summer program. The results show that intensive pre-college enhancement for entering freshmen can improve student success in college. Student graduation data from the early cohorts (2010, 2011, 2012) were obtained from Institutional Research. The summary results showed that students from the accepted/ attending group had substantially increased GPAs and graduation rates, essentially closing the achievement gap. Increased interest in biomedical research careers was also developed by the program, as demonstrated by a five-fold number of summer enrichment participants entering the PhD, MARC (Minority Access to Research Careers) and RISE (Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement) programs than students who did not attend summer enrichment. Ethn Dis.2020;30(1):33-40; doi:10.18865/ed.30.1.33
Despite umpteen initiatives undertaken by the government though Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) in Malaysia, the number of students enrolling for Science, Technology Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors in tertiary education keeps declining. This issue is expected to negatively impact Malaysia & rsquo;s economy in the long run. Researchers have traced this problem to two root causes: (1) Decrease in motivation and interest among students to learn Science and Math-related subjects at secondary schools, and (2) Low exposure to STEM in secondary schools due to inadequate integration of science, math, engineering design process and technology in Science and Math instructions. To add to the current body of literature and raise awareness among educational stakeholders, this study reviews some recently conducted studies with two objectives: (1) To explore the current teaching-learning practices that affect students' motivation and interest to pursue STEM, and (2) To make some practical suggestions in terms of instruction and teaching-learning practices to attract more students towards STEM. It is believed that this review will be especially beneficial for Malaysian secondary school teachers and curriculum planners to design STEM projects and lessons using teaching-learning practices that can positively influence more students to pursue tertiary education and careers in STEM.
