2. WOMEN IN STEM
⢠Women are largely underrepresented in STEM
⢠Even when women enter fields at similar rates as men, theyâŚ
⢠Have less experience with the topics
⢠Earn lower GPAs
⢠Are more subject to attrition
⢠Among the many factors at play, women consistently identify stereotypes
as a major barrier to their success
National Science Foundation & NationalCenter for Science and Engineering Statistics, 2015; Riegle-Crumb & King, 2010
3. STEREOTYPES IN
STEM
⢠Stereotype threat â impacts
performance
⢠Stereotypes of individualsâ abilities â
impacts hiring and assessment
⢠Stereotypes about scientists â
impacts interest and persistence
⢠Culture of brilliance â unclear, may
impact admission, persistence, and
evaluation
Aronson, Fried, & Good, 2002; Johnson, Barnard-Brak, Saxon, &
Johnson, 2012; Leslie, Cimpian, Meyer, and Freeland, 2015;
Brickhouse & Potter, 2001; Margolis, Fisher, & Fisher, 1999
4. SELVES IN STEM
⢠What is the âselfâ, or an identity? What are possible-selves?
⢠How do selves and identities impact behavior? What happens when there is a
conflict?
5. DIVERSE STORIES IN & OUT
⢠The current project Iâm working on starts in a community college classroom in
California
6. DIVERSE STORIES IN & OUT
⢠Analysis of writing shows emphasis on the paths scientists take
⢠Life experiences and goals
⢠Their traits, interests, and character
⢠Presence of diversity and transformation
7. CHANGE STORIES, CHANGE SELVES
⢠How do we build on this first study to diversify ideas about the self (both current
and future)?
⢠Looking at literature that discusses
⢠Experiences in science classrooms at all levels
⢠Influential factors in perceived value of schooling and science interest
⢠Drawing on this research to create a scale that assess
⢠Life experiences (particularly those that occurred in classrooms)
⢠Career expectations and goals
⢠Perceived skillsets and characteristics
8. CHANGE STORIES, CHANGE SELVES
When I think about myself, I think IâŚ
⢠...slacked off and didn't work hard during high school.
⢠...have parents who struggle to make ends meet.
⢠âŚsucceed because of hard work.
⢠âŚsucceed because I'm naturally intelligent.
9. CHANGE STORIES, CHANGE SELVES
When I think about scientists, I think theyâŚ
⢠âŚwere involved in a lot of extracurricular activities as children.
⢠âŚwere known for being smart, even as children.
⢠âŚwork in environments where they can relax and enjoy themselves.
⢠âŚsacrificed a lot just to get their degree, and even more to become successful.
10. CHANGE STORIESâŚ
âThis article was interesting, actually, because Dr. Dubois is such a
unique person. He was born and raised to be a farmer, and didnât
have very much money or aspiration beyond finishing high school
and maybe attending college if he could. He found science
completely by accident and fell in love [âŚ] Itâs very impressive to
see someone come from so traditionally unlikely a background
and become so well-known for his workâŚâ
11. âŚCHANGE SELVES
âIn some of the spotlights some scientists felt that they didnât
always want to pursue a career in science and that it just happens.
Iâm starting to feel the same way. Iâm not originally a science
major but I feel that I could have a future in it if I find the right
field.â
12. REFERENCES
Anthis, K. S., Dunkel, C. S., & Anderson, B. (2004). Gender and identity status differences in late adolescentsâ possible
selves. Journal of Adolescence, 27(2), 147â152. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2003.11.010
Aronson, J., Fried, C. B., & Good, C. (2002). Reducing the Effects of Stereotype Threat on African American College
Students by ShapingTheories of Intelligence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38(2), 113â125.
doi:10.1006/jesp.2001.1491
Brickhouse, N.W., & Potter, J.T. (2001).YoungWomenâs Scientifc Identity Formation in an Urban Context, 38(8), 965â980.
Hermans, H. J. M., & Gieser,T. (2012). Handbook of Dialogical SelfTheory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Johnson, H. J., Barnard-Brak, L., Saxon,T. F., & Johnson, M. K. (2012). An Experimental Study of the Effects of Stereotype
Threat and Stereotype Lift on Men andWomenâs Performance in Mathematics. The Journal of Experimental
Education, 80(2), 137â149. doi:10.1080/00220973.2011.567312
Leslie, S.-J., Cimpian, A., Meyer, M., & Freeland, E. (2015). Expectations of briliance underlie gender distributions across
academic disciplines. Science, 347(6219), 23â34. doi:10.1081/E-EWS
Lips, H. M. (2004).The gender gap in possible selves: Divergence of academic self-views among high school and university
students. Sex Roles, 50(5-6), 357â371. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/B:SERS.0000018891.88889.c9
Margolis, J., Fisher, A., & Fisher, F. (1999). Caring about connections: Gender and computing. IEEETechnology and Society
Magazine, 18(14), 13â20. doi:10.1109/44.808844
13. REFERENCES
McLean, K. C. (2008).The Emergence of Narrative Identity. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2, 1685â1702.
doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2008.00124.x
National Science Foundation, & National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. (2015).Women, Minorities, and Persons with
Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 2015. Special Report NSF 15-311. Retrieved from http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/
Oyserman, D., & Destin, M. (2010). Identity-based motivation: Implications for intervention. TheCounseling Psychologist, 38(7),
1001â1043. doi:10.1177/0011000010374775
Oyserman, D., & Fryberg, S. (2006).The possible selves of diverse adolescents: Content and function across gender, race, and
national origin. In PossibleSelves:Theory, Research and Applications (pp. 1â23).
Pals, J. L. (2006a). Constructing the âSpringboard Effectâ: Causal connections, selfmaking, and growth within the life story. In D. P.
McAdams, R. Josselson, & A. Lieblich (Eds.), Identity and Story: Creating Self in Narrative. Washington, D.C.:American
Psychological Association.
Pals, J. L. (2006b). Narrative identity processing of difficult life experiences: Pathways of personality development and positive self-
transformation in adulthood. Journal of Personality, 74(4), 1079â1110. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2006.00403.x
Riegle-Crumb,C., & King, B. (2010). Questioning aWhite MaleAdvantage in STEM: Examining Disparities inCollege Major by
Gender and Race/Ethnicity. Educational Researcher, 39(9), 656â664. doi:10.3102/0013189X10391657
Schinske, J., Perkins, H., Snyder, A., &Wyer, M. (under review). Scientist Spotlight Homework Assignments Shift Studentsâ
Stereotypes of Scientists and Enhance Diverse Introductory Science Class. CBE Life Sciences Education.
Hinweis der Redaktion
Women are largely underrepresented
numbers are improving or breaking even in some fields (e.g., biological sciences)
but remain dramatically uneven in others (e.g., computer science)
Even when women enter fields at similar rates as men, theyâŚ
Were less exposed to science and math coursework at the high school level, and subsequently earn lower GPAs
Are more likely to leave before completing their degree or finding employment (the leaky pipeline)
Stereotype threat â decreased performance caused by the additional cognitive load of anticipating a negative, stereotype-based appraisal in a valued domain
Stereotypes of womenâs abilities â assumptions about performance that influence interactions, opportunities, and assessments
Culture of brilliance â belief that success in certain fields is due to inborn talent rather than perseverance and hard work (negatively related to presence of women and minorities)
Beliefs about scientistsâ abilities, identities, and futures -- stereotypes that portray scientists as unattractive, asocial loners
Identity
Dynamically and socially constructed
Primed by environment
What are possible-selves?
Future-oriented
Social constructions
Express both aspirations and concerns
Can be academic (i.e. scientific, engineering, mathematic), interpersonal, occupational, etc.
Selves predict behavior because we attempt to behave in identity-congruent ways
When there is a conflict, we withdraw from the difficult identity: âIâm struggling a lot in my programming class, so Iâm just not made out to be a programmerâ
We have many possible selves (varying in ideal-ness and feared-ness) and many current selves
As part of an Introduction to Biology class, the professor asks students to read about twelve scientists who have done work in curriculum-relevant areas
By the end of the quarter, studentsâ ideas about scientists have changed
Analyzing their writing shows how much emphasis these students place on pathways â how people become scientists, how they do science, how they come to be famous as scientists, etc.
The intervention diversified ideas about scientists and the perception of scientists as relatable
But did not affect perception of self or plans for the future
Current study looks at creation of a science pathways scale that assess
participantsâ experiences as students and members of their families and communities
their career expectations and goals
their perceptions of their own intelligence, socially competence, and industriousness
As well as how they view scientistsâ self-same experiences and qualities
[scale items]
These items are drawn from literature that reflects on diverse experiences in STEM and the education system