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Reducing adolescent girls' concerns about STEM stereotypes: When do female teachers matter?
Abstract
In two experiments, we examined how teacher gender and stereotype threat cues affected adolescents' self-reported concerns about being negatively stereotyped in computer science courses. High-school students (Experiment 1: N = 218; Experiment 2:N = 193) read about two computer science courses, one with a competent male teacher and one with a competent female teacher, and were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions. In the stereotype threat condition, they read a paragraph that introduced negative stereotypes about girls' performance; in the no gender difference condition, they read a paragraph that countered negative stereotypes; and in the baseline control condition, they read neither paragraph. In both experiments, girls reported more concerns about being negatively stereotyped than boys when the teacher was male versus female, and this effect was specifically driven by significant differences in the stereotype threat condition. When situational cues are threatening, female teachers (compared to male teachers) reduce girls' concerns about being negatively stereotyped, with implications for both theories of identity and educational practice.
... Girls and women often receive the message that the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are not "for them" (Furnham et al., 2002;Steele et al., 2002;Murphy et al., 2007). Gender-matched role models can challenge these inequitable ideas about STEM belonging (Marx and Roman, 2002;Stout et al., 2011;Master et al., 2014). Although teachers may act as role models (Master et al., 2014), youth also encounter STEM role models outside the classroom in informal science learning sites (ISLS; e.g., science centers, zoos, and aquaria). ...
... Gender-matched role models can challenge these inequitable ideas about STEM belonging (Marx and Roman, 2002;Stout et al., 2011;Master et al., 2014). Although teachers may act as role models (Master et al., 2014), youth also encounter STEM role models outside the classroom in informal science learning sites (ISLS; e.g., science centers, zoos, and aquaria). While interactions in ISLS are less likely to directly impact course enrolment or career trajectories, they may offer an important boost to STEM interest and challenge STEM gender stereotypes. ...
... This research has most often been conducted in formal educational contexts (Dee, 2006). For example, female adolescents are less concerned about being negatively stereotyped when their teacher is female than when their teacher is male (Master et al., 2014). Further, when asked to describe a role model who inspired them to pursue a particular career or educational path (including, but not limited to, STEM careers), female participants more frequently described a female role model (Lockwood, 2006). ...
Interest in science and math plays an important role in encouraging STEM motivation and career aspirations. This interest decreases for girls between late childhood and adolescence. Relatedly, positive mentoring experiences with female teachers can protect girls against losing interest. The present study examines whether visitors to informal science learning sites (ISLS; science centers, zoos, and aquariums) differ in their expressed science and math interest, as well as their science and math stereotypes following an interaction with either a male or female educator. Participants (n = 364; early childhood, n = 151, M
age
= 6.73; late childhood, n = 136, M
age
= 10.01; adolescence, n = 59, M
age
= 13.92) were visitors to one of four ISLS in the United States and United Kingdom. Following an interaction with a male or female educator, they reported their math and science interest and responded to math and science gender stereotype measures. Female participants reported greater interest in math following an interaction with a female educator, compared to when they interacted with a male educator. In turn, female participants who interacted with a female educator were less likely to report male-biased math gender stereotypes. Self-reported science interest did not differ as a function of educator gender. Together these findings suggest that, when aiming to encourage STEM interest and challenge gender stereotypes in informal settings, we must consider the importance of the gender of educators and learners.
... Evidence from formal learning settings indicates that interactions with counter-stereotypical STEM educators can challenge the consequences of stereotypes. For example, in computer science classrooms, girls report greater concern about being negatively stereotyped than boys when they have a male teacher; however, the presence of a female teacher alleviates this concern (Master, Cheryan, & Meltzoff, 2014). Male students can also be positively influenced by interactions with counter-stereotypical teachers and peers. ...
... STEM is one area in which gender stereotypes about ability sustain the status of men (Jost & Kay, 2005;Koenig, 2018). Evidence has shown that children are impacted by such stereotypes in school contexts (Master et al., 2014). Consistent with this work the present findings demonstrate these stereotypes are sustained outside of the classroom. ...
... In the present study we did not observe an influence of educator interaction on responses to gender stereotype measures. This offers an important caveat to previous work examining the role of female teachers and role models (Master et al., 2014). Based on these findings, it is likely that both interaction quantity and quality play a role in determining whether a STEM expert will influence stereotypes. ...
Stereotypes about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are associated with reduced STEM engagement amongst girls and women. The present study examined these stereotypes from early childhood through adolescence within informal science learning sites (ISLS; science museums, zoos, aquariums). Further, the study explored whether interactions with male or female educators influenced STEM stereotypes. Participants (n = 997, female = 572) were ISLS visitors in the UK and USA who either interacted with an educator, or no educator. With age participants were more likely to report that “both boys and girls” are “usually”, “should” be, and “can” be good at STEM. Independent of age, male participants reported that their own gender group “should” be good at STEM. Educator interactions did not influence stereotype responses. These results highlight early childhood as a key developmental window in which to challenge ideas about who can and should be proficient in STEM.
... Gender differences in STEM stereotypes Blažev et al. 's (2017) study with school pupils in Croatia shows that male students and those who had previous success in STEM subjects are more likely to hold stereotypical beliefs about STEM. Several factors have been proposed to positively impact stereotypical beliefs, such as the presence of females in a class (Gunderson et al., 2012;Master et al., 2014;Riegle-Crumb et al., 2017). Riegle-Crumb et al. (2017) conducted a study regarding the presence of females in high school classes. ...
... They reported that female peers had a positive impact in reducing male peers' stereotypical beliefs. The presence of female teachers seemed to have a similar impact: Master et al. (2014) found that female teachers reduced female students' concerns about being negatively stereotyped in classroom situations. In contrast, Gunderson et al. (2012) reported that gender-biased stereotypes about females' mathematics capabilities are cultivated, rather than ameliorated, by teachers. ...
Internationally, the need to advance science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education is recognized as being vital for meeting social and economic challenges and developing a scientifically, mathematically, and technologically literate citizenry. In many countries, however, there are gender differences in the participation and achievement of girls and women in STEM education and STEM careers, usually to the disadvantage of females. This paper aims to identify challenges to female students’ participation in STEM both at post-primary (secondary school) level and beyond in the Irish context. The research questions we aim to address in this paper are: (1) what are student attitudes towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics as measured through interest and perceived ability in STEM, students’ valuing of STEM and students’ commitment to STEM? and (2) what gender differences occur regarding students’ attitudes to science, technology, engineering and mathematics? A survey was completed by 308 post-primary students in Ireland as part of a one-year research project titled “STEMChAT: Women as catalysts for change in STEM education.” Data analysis compiled descriptive statistics, including response frequencies and percentages and median and interquartile range values, and compared gender differences in survey responses using the Kruskal–Wallis H Test. Results indicated that female students had significantly more positive attitudes to science compared to males while in comparison, males had significantly more positive responses to mathematics compared to females. Challenges regarding access to and understanding of STEM in the context of post-primary education are discussed.
... In the case of girls, the importance of role models as well as teachers and study counsellors involved in the formal education context has been stressed in the literature [35,36]. Previous studies, however, have provided contradictory results on the influence of the gender of the role models or teachers [35,37]. Some studies have argued that female teachers positively affect female students' motivation, confidence, participation, and performance in STEM [37][38][39][40], while other studies did not find such a relationship [41] or even reported the opposite [42]. ...
... Previous studies, however, have provided contradictory results on the influence of the gender of the role models or teachers [35,37]. Some studies have argued that female teachers positively affect female students' motivation, confidence, participation, and performance in STEM [37][38][39][40], while other studies did not find such a relationship [41] or even reported the opposite [42]. Based on these topics, our study focused on informal and nonformal learning activities by investigating the role of the age and gender of participants and activity leader experts in the goal of the activities, in the covered curricular subjects, and in the place of the activities, together with identified challenges and best practices. ...
There is a growing number of informal and non-formal learning activities worldwide related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) curricular subject areas—particularly those involving coding and making. To better understand the general aim and content of such activities, we conducted a survey addressing highly experienced instructional designers and instructors of informal and non-formal science learning activities in nine European countries (N = 128). The goal of this paper is to investigate the relation between the gender of the activity leader experts, the target audience, the covered curricular subjects, the main goal, and the place of the activity. The results show that the gender and age of the participants are related to the covered curricular subjects and to the goal of the activity, and that the place of the activity is associated with all of the investigated dimensions. We introduce the patterns we identified that describe typical goals and the covered curricular subjects in relation to the participants’ gender and age along with patterns between the activity leader experts’ gender, the covered curricular subjects, and the main goal of the activity, as well as relationships between the studied dimensions and the place of the activity. Furthermore, we discuss the best practices and the bottlenecks of the activities, as well as detailed study findings regarding the revealed patterns, in addition to their implications and value for the informal and non-formal learning communities.
... In fact, in today's society, CS stereotypes are perceived as incompatible with qualities that are valued in women, such as being feminine, people-oriented, and modest about one's abilities (Leslie et al., 2015). As a result, when these stereotypes are prominent, females fell less belonging in the field (Cheryan et al., 2009;Master et al., 2014). The less that students feel a sense of belonging in a field, the less likely they are to pursue that field (Master et al., 2014). ...
... As a result, when these stereotypes are prominent, females fell less belonging in the field (Cheryan et al., 2009;Master et al., 2014). The less that students feel a sense of belonging in a field, the less likely they are to pursue that field (Master et al., 2014). ...
... concerns about being negatively stereotyped in the classroom (Master et al., 2014). The students' science classroom environment may have impacted their pre-existing perceptions of scientists. ...
Role model interventions that are tied to place based-learning and classroom curricula may be effective tools for promoting diversity in STEM. To evaluate this premise, we developed a sixth-grade lesson plan that focused on teaching environmental conservation and highlighting diverse women in science. Our curricula used a three-touch educational model consisting of comic-based lesson plans, a local “field trip” to Cabrillo National Monument, trading cards featuring 19 diverse women scientists, and a conservation capstone poster presentation - all aligned to Next Generation Science Standards - to create a meaningful experiential and project-based module. To evaluate the program, we used a mixed-methods, change over time model, including the Draw-a-Scientist test (DAST) to assess if student perceptions of scientists were altered from the curricula. Overall, thirty-three students completed the DAST before and after participation, and we found that science stereotypes held by students decreased after participation in the lesson plan. By using innovative tools such as art and comics for science education/outreach that feature characters representing a diverse array of scientists with intersectional identities, educators can help shift student perceptions on who can be a scientist, potentially increasing diversity in scientific fields.
... These conclusions are confirmed by several studies discussed in the report "Cracking the code: Girls' and women's education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics", by UNESCO (2017). These studies agree that the gender gap in STEM fields does not depend on innate abilities or biological factors, but on the capacity of the brain to create new links; which is affected by experience, learning, and role models in youth (Bystydzienski et al. 2015;Master et al 2014). This underlines the potential importance of providing well-designed informational and educational campaigns in schools. ...
... They appreciated the most that "girls will have an increased interest in STEM / digital disciplines" and "they will want to know more about STEM" (cf. Master et al. 2014;Solanki & Xu, 2018). The lecturers also highly appreciated the participation of the girls who really enjoyed the work in the laboratory and worked hard and followed the instructions. ...
This is a case study of open assignment in secondary education, targeted at misinformation related to chemistry. In the assignment, the students were to find the misinformation by themselves using the web with little direction. Therefore, the case study was targeting both the difficulty of the very open approach to assignments and the recognition and critical assessment of misinformation in the students.
The case study discovered that the ability of surveyed students to deal with very open assignment was not on the desirable level and nearly half of them failed. Once the students overcame this initial difficulty, the argument quality of the students was generally on point, showing understanding of the chosen topic. However, the most common scientifically accurate arguments were based on popularization science articles or outlets of fact-checking organizations that each themselves declared their sources, not on the scientific papers.
... 101), a common stereotype, and furthermore that girls are often socialised into nurturing or practical roles, of which the above careers, particularly teaching and nursing, which are listed as stereotypical by Hur et al., (2017). According to Master et al. (2014), girls' engagement in STEM can be affected by ability and identity stereotypes of who normally participates in STEM, where they can feel that failure will confirm the former stereotype, and not achieve a sense of belonging for the latter. ...
A small-scale pilot study was conducted in north-west Tasmania to investigate adolescent girls’ willingness to participate in informal STEM education, through exploring their perceptions and experiences of computer science (CS), and their future aspirations. This pilot study was funded by an Inspiring Australia Public Science Event Grant, enabling the delivery of two local Girls’ Programming Network (GPN) workshops by the two Sydney-based GPN co-founders. The aim of this case study was to determine the viability of establishing an ongoing and sustainable northwest Tasmanian GPN, which would provide rural adolescent girls with opportunities to explore programming, connect them with mentors and role models, and show them what potential career opportunities exist beyond family and local contexts. Qualitative methods of data collection comprised focus group interviews and artefact elicitation with the participants, and individual interviews with the program co-founders. The results indicate that single-sex informal CS education opportunities are valued by adolescent girls, and that typical gender stereotypes can be changed due to the experience of engaging in them. The success of the pilot study indicates that establishing the GPN in a rural area to provide adolescent girls with free and fun CS experiences is worthwhile and viable.
... They appreciated the most that "girls will have an increased interest in STEM / digital disciplines" and "they will want to know more about STEM" (cf. Master et al. 2014;Solanki & Xu, 2018). The lecturers also highly appreciated the participation of the girls who really enjoyed the work in the laboratory and worked hard and followed the instructions. ...
Promoting 21st century skills and teaching them to prospective teachers became a challenge during the closure. The main problem was the lack of didactics for practical exercises, of which practical and hands-on activities are an essential part. Based on previous experiences, three activities were systematically planned and evaluated. The case studies presented were conducted as practitioner research. Final evaluation was done using SWOT analysis. Asynchronous activities supported by problem-based learning were an approach in the right direction. Students were engaged, active, and successfully acquired knowledge and skills under the otherwise passive conditions of forced emergence education.
... They appreciated the most that "girls will have an increased interest in STEM / digital disciplines" and "they will want to know more about STEM" (cf. Master et al. 2014;Solanki & Xu, 2018). The lecturers also highly appreciated the participation of the girls who really enjoyed the work in the laboratory and worked hard and followed the instructions. ...
The integrated conception of science disciplines’ teaching under the name Science has been seen as one of the solutions how to motivate students towards learning science as well as how to contextualize subject matter of the particular sub-disciplines. However, there is a limited evidence about both teachers’ willingness to change their approach as well as their preparedness to teach an integrated subject. In this study, Delphi method was used on a sample of 15 teachers from various school in order to gain their opinion about strengths, weaknesses, opportunities or threats of teaching integrated Science. The results then represent a first foot-hold for further discussions in this respect.
... They appreciated the most that "girls will have an increased interest in STEM / digital disciplines" and "they will want to know more about STEM" (cf. Master et al. 2014;Solanki & Xu, 2018). The lecturers also highly appreciated the participation of the girls who really enjoyed the work in the laboratory and worked hard and followed the instructions. ...
Conference proceedings from 19th PBE conference.
... While many sociocultural, contextual, biological, behavioral, and psychological factors may contribute to limiting girls' engagement with STEM, Master and Meltzoff (2016) highlighted the critical contribution of gender stereotypes in driving young students' interest and motivation in STEM. The underrepresentation of girls and women in the STEM field is deeply rooted in gender social representations that suggest how girls are not appropriate, or at least less than boys, for STEM education and employment (Master et al., 2014;Piatek-Jimenez et al., 2018;Thébaud and Charles, 2018;UNICEF, 2020b). Data from the above-mentioned report from UNICEF (2020a) support this view by associating gender gap in STEM with a variety of gender norms, biases, and stereotypes (e.g., girls receive less STEM-related praise; parents expect their sons, rather than their daughters, to have a STEM career). ...
While many sociocultural, contextual, biological, behavioral, and psychological variables may contribute to the widespread under-representation of girls and women in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field, this study focused on STEM-gender stereotypes, school experiences, and adolescence as critical factors in driving students' interest and motivation in STEM. Based on this, the study (a) investigated differences by gender and national context (Italy vs. Nigeria) in adolescents' STEM-gender stereotypes, school empowerment, and school engagement in a preliminary step, and (b) simultaneously examined how adolescents' STEM-gender stereotypes were related to school empowerment and school engagement as well as to socioeconomic status (SES). These latter relations were considered within the context of the potential moderating role of gender and national context. Participants included 213 Italian adolescents (Mage = 13.91; 52.1% girls) and 214 Nigerian adolescents (Mage = 13.92; 60.3% girls), who completed measures of school empowerment and engagement, STEM-gender stereotypes, and SES. A multivariate analysis of covariance showed that Nigerian girls and boys reported significantly higher levels of school empowerment, school engagement, and STEM-gender stereotypes than their Italian peers. Moreover, regardless of the national context, boys scored significantly higher on school empowerment and STEM-gender stereotypes than girls. Furthermore, a multiple-group path analysis revealed how higher school empowerment was related to lower STEM-gender stereotypes in both Italian and Nigerian girls' groups, while higher school engagement was associated with lower STEM-gender stereotypes only in the Nigerian groups. Regardless of gender and nationality, higher SES was linked to lower STEM-gender stereotypes. These findings particularly suggest that school empowerment and school engagement can be relevant dimensions to be studied and to develop strategies to counteract STEM-gender stereotypes in adolescence. Nonetheless, gender and national context are key factors to be considered. Limitations, strengths, future research, and educational implications are discussed.
... Empirical research on how teachers impact CS stereotypes in early childhood settings is scarce (Ari, Arslan-Ari, & Vasconcelos, 2022), but results with older students are promising. Particularly, exposure to a female CS teacher reduced girls' concerns about being the target of negative stereotypes (Master et al., 2014). Further, a study with high schoolers found that boys immersed in predominantly female classes and taught by a female engineering teacher reported reduced gender biases and stereotypes compared to peers immersed in a predominantly male classroom and taught by a male engineering teacher (Riegle-Crumb et al., 2017). ...
Stereotypes prevent females and other minorities from pursuing an education and a career in Computer Science (CS). Central to broadening the CS pipeline is identifying and debunking stereotypes about computer scientists, especially stereotypes among those who serve as role models for young children, such as early childhood educators. This mixed methods study examined which CS stereotypes female early childhood preservice teachers hold. Analysis of the data collected from 70 preservice teachers revealed stereotypes about computer scientists' appearance, race/ethnicity, cognitive skills, and work preferences. Specifically, participants see computer scientists as intelligent and overworked White individuals who wear glasses. Findings also showed participants' counter-stereotypical notions about computer scientists’ gender and social skills. Particularly, computer scientists were portrayed as collaborative professionals who could be from either gender. CS has been recurrently described in the literature as a male-dominant field, so findings from this study suggest that females may be starting to see themselves or other females in CS roles. Additionally, the emergence of both stereotypical and counter-stereotypical notions speaks to the fact that different conceptions can be formed based on prior experience and exposure to CS role models. As implications for practice and future research, these findings emphasize the importance of addressing CS stereotypes within teacher education programs, as well as preparing future teachers who can pedagogically design and offer CS education to young children in inclusive ways.
... As far as we know, no previous research has investigated early childhood preservice teachers' stereotypical beliefs in CS. Furthermore, considering that the majority of teachers, especially the early childhood teachers, are female in K-12 education (Zha et al., 2020) and that they serve as role models for young children (Master et al., 2014;Olsson & Martiny, 2018), it is important to understand the full extent of their stereotypes in CS (e.g., gender) early in their teacher training programs and offer strategies that would help them debunk such stereotypes before they start their teaching careers. ...
The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate early childhood preservice teachers’ perceptions of computer science and gender stereotypes in computer science, and perceptions of coding in early childhood education. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from early childhood preservice teachers enrolled in a teaching methods course at a large southeastern university in the U.S. Findings showed that participants had misconceptions about what CS is and what computer scientists do. They were also neutral about coding and its integration in early childhood education. Both qualitative and quantitative data supported that the participants did not hold gender stereotypes in CS.
... Furthermore, girls and women often receive the message that the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are not for them [48]. Another study [49] examined interactions with a formal educator where they observed that girls are less concerned about being negatively stereotyped when their teacher is female than when their teacher is male. Studies [50] have shown that girls and women are more interested in careers where they can help others. ...
The study aims to design a methodological approach that allows educational robotics to develop STEM competences for schoolteachers, but with a gender focus. The phases within consist of designing a set of workshops with a gender approach, making use of Arduino, as it allows for introducing concepts in electronics and programming. For this, a mixed research method was applied, where quantitative and qualitative information was collected. The study was carried out with teachers from Latin American schools, where teachers from Chile and Colombia participated the most, and was conducted in virtual mode through the Zoom platform. As a result, it was found that Arduino and its components can be used to build projects that can be related in a real context, which further motivates students. It was also found that the levels of creativity, attitude, and motivation of the students increased with the workshops that were carried out.
... Researchers have suggested that certain types of individuals who are often thought of as role models (e.g., such as a Nobel Prize winner in STEEM or teachers) cannot be defined as such. For example, high school teachers often proposed as "role models" for underrepresented high school students (e.g., Evans, 1992;Gilmartin et al., 2006;Master et al., 2014), may only serve as inspiration for teaching, since they are not experts in STEM fields per se. Instead, older experts such as college faculty and industry professionals could be considered more motivating and inspiring to increase positive STEM attitudes (Stout et al., 2011), bolster feelings of fit in science (O'Brien et al., 2017), and increase motivation to learn science and improve science grades (Lin-Siegler et al., 2016). ...
The motivational theory of role modeling proposes motivational processes as critical mechanisms through which attainable role models can increase role aspirants' adoption of more ambitious goals. We conducted four studies to empirically test this proposition with role aspirants and their role models in field and experimental settings (total N = 2,165). Results provide empirical support for motivational processes of role modelling. Together they demonstrate that role models increase role aspirants' subjectively perceived probability of success (i.e., expectancy) and in turn motivation and goals, but only when they are perceived as attainable. These findings reveal how vital it is to raise the visibility of role models who embody representations of the possible and call for further research to understand how role models can reinforce expectancy by changing perceptions of one's own success, particularly the aspirations of minority group members.
... À cet égard, l'impact positif du modèle femme en STIM sur les étudiantes inscrites dans ces filières s'expliquerait par l'évitement d'un tel effet puisqu'il réduirait le sentiment de menace et le désinvestissement du cursus au fil du parcours(Drury et al., 2011). De la même manière, les enseignantes en STIM favoriseraient « une comparaison sociale ascendante »(Max & Delmas, 2013, p. 127) et se présenteraient alors comme des modèles pour les filles(Master et al., 2014). Il semble donc nécessaire de proposer plusieurs modèles afin d'assurer, et de pérenniser, une influence positive. ...
En se situant au croisement des sphères scientifique, politique et sociale, la formation initiale des professeur.es des écoles (PE) à l’égalité des sexes est un objet de recherche prolifique. Pour notre discipline, cet espace recouvre d’autant plus d’intérêt que la déconstruction des stéréotypes figure désormais comme cheval de bataille (Morin-Messabel et al., 2018). En parallèle, la psychologie sociale accorde une attention particulière aux contre-stéréotypes : construits en miroir des stéréotypes, ils incarneraient leur antidote (Blair et al., 2001). Bien que le contre-stéréotype ne jouisse pas de la renommée du stéréotype dans la pensée sociale, il a su s’immiscer de façon anonyme dans le champ de l’éducation. L’objectif de notre thèse est de saisir la manière dont ces concepts psychosociaux, ainsi que la notion d’égalité, sont représentés dans la formation des futur.es PE, notamment par les formé.es. Dans cette perspective, notre protocole de recherche s’inscrit dans une stratégie de triangulation (Kalampalikis & Apostolidis, 2021). En premier lieu, nous avons mené des entretiens individuels semi-directifs auprès de futur.es PE (n=43), de manière sérielle (i.e. pendant le M1, le M2, et la 1ère année de stage). Puis, nous avons appréhendé les savoirs collectifs des formé.es en conduisant 3 focus groups (i.e. M1, M2, mixte). L’observation des séances de formation à l’égalité des sexes (n=4) constitue notre troisième étape de recherche. Celle-ci nous invitait à interroger les interactions formateur.trice.s-masterant.es, en nous focalisant plus particulièrement sur les connaissances dispensées par les enseignant.es-chercheur.es en charge de ces enseignements. En dernier lieu, l’analyse des textes officiels produits par les politiques éducatives, de 1984 à 2019, sur les questions d’égalité filles-garçons (n=7) nous permettait d’approcher un langage politique. Les résultats obtenus révèlent la prépondérance des notions d’égalité et de stéréotype, les deux fonctionnant ensemble dans les différents discours recueillis. Nous notons des définitions consensuelles à leur égard. Néanmoins, le concept de différence vient flouter les deux termes et fait dissensus. Le contre-stéréotype, quant à lui, n’est que peu nommé en tant que tel, et demeure marginal. C’est la liaison qu’il entretient avec le stéréotype qui lui permet d’être reconnu et conceptualisé. Enfin, lorsque les stéréotypes et contre-stéréotypes sont théorisés, les discours portent l’empreinte d’un vocabulaire psychosocial.
... Following this idea of dynamic identity construction, female role models and teachers have been shown to play an important role in challenging the consequences of STEM gender stereotypes (Cheryan et al., 2011;Marx & Roman, 2002;Master et al., 2014;Stout et al., 2011). Recent research has documented that girls who visit ISLS report being more interested in mathematics following an interaction with a female educator (McGuire et al., 2021). ...
The impact of educators in informal science learning sites (ISLS) remains understudied from the perspective of youth visitors. Less is known about whether engagement with educators differs based on the age and gender of both visitor and educator. Here, visitors (5–17 years old) to six ISLS in the United States and United Kingdom (n = 488, female n = 244) were surveyed following an interaction with either a youth (14–18 -years old) or adult educator (19+ years old). For participants who reported lower interest in the exhibit, more educator engagement was related to greater self-reported learning. Younger children and adolescents reported more engagement with an adult educator, whereas engagement in middle childhood did not differ based on educator age. Participants in middle childhood showed a trend toward answering more conceptual knowledge questions correctly following an interaction with a youth educator. Together, these findings emphasize the promise of tailoring educator experiences to visitor demographics.
... This also challenges women's possibility of being recognized as role models in ICT . Studies have documented that female students are positively influenced by female lecturers and by lecturers who do not reflect stereotypical notions of ICT, while male students are less responsive to the gender in this context (Master et al., 2014). Furthermore, research shows that women are more attracted to topics like technology's social aspects and social benefits (Jethwani et al., 2016). ...
The study includes interviews with 24 women in Norway currently studying or holding academic recruitment or research positions at faculties of technology and science. In a previous analysis from this study we have documented that the women did not feel invited or encouraged to choose an ICT education, and their lack of knowledge about ICT in the transition between lower and higher education sends nearly half the group into a “penalty loop” – starting with another degree before “discovering” ICT, and subsequently starting all over again with an ICT degree (Corneliussen, 2020). This chapter analyses how these women, once they have entered ICT, find ways of empowering themselves in a field that they initially experienced as not very welcoming to women, asking how they succeed in establishing their own sense of belonging in the field of ICT. The analysis
explores how women negotiate to perceive themselves as fitting into the male-dominated field of ICT. In this process they mainly have to rely on their own efforts – their self-empowerment, employing strategies and practices for making women visible as they strive to identify ICT as a field where women, too, belong.
... More recently, an experiment demonstrated that fifth-grade girls who were exposed to a female role model performed better on a math test compared to girls exposed to a male role model (Bagès & Martinot, 2011). Female role models may also be more effective than male role models at reducing girls' concerns about being negatively stereotyped in scientific contexts where negative stereotypes are salient (Master et al., 2014). Thus, there is some evidence that exposure to female role models can have a positive impact on girls' STEM outcomes, although it should be noted that some studies have either failed to find a beneficial effect of female role models or found beneficial effects on some outcomes, but not other outcomes (Bamberger, 2014;Conner & Danielson, 2016). ...
A field experiment tested an intervention to maximize the impact of a science outreach program by encouraging early adolescent girls (N = 240, Mage =12) to adopt female role models. Girls participated in workshops led by female role models who were scientific experts in their field. Afterward, they were randomly assigned to choose and write about their favorite workshop leader or to write about the first workshop leader. We hypothesized that the intervention would benefit girls who chose and wrote about a favorite leader. However, girls in both conditions experienced significant increases in science identity. Girls demonstrated strong role model identification with the workshop leaders; moreover, role model identification was associated with increases in science identity. Girls in the chosen leader condition focused on her competence and supportiveness more than girls in the assigned leader condition. There was no difference in science identity between girls from well‐represented and underrepresented minority (URM) ethnic groups in scientific fields. URM girls, surprisingly, identified more with the workshop leader than well‐represented girls. Science workshops led by female role models with relevant expertise may facilitate science identification among early adolescent girls from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
... Det resulterer ofte i at kvinner opplever å vaere en minoritet i IKT-kontekster, noe som kan gjøre dem synlig som kvinner og usynlig som fagpersoner (Faulkner, 2009;Kanter, 1993Kanter, (1977). Det gjør også at kvinner har få kvinnelige rollemodeller innen IKT , og forskning har vist at kvinnelige studenter påvirkes positivt av kvinnelige forelesere og av forelesere som ikke reflekterer stereotypiske forestillinger om IKT, mens mannlige studenter i mindre grad reagerer på forelesers kjønn (Master et al., 2014). Studier har også identifisert at kvinner blir mer tiltrukket av teknologiens sosiale aspekter og fokus på samfunnsnytte (Jethwani et al., 2016) og samtidig har kvinner erfart at deres faglige valg ikke blir oppfattet som like viktige som «nerdene» (typisk menn) sitt fokus på tekniske aspekter (Håpnes, 1992;Woodfield, 2000). ...
This report was commissioned by the National Center for Science Recruitment. The aim of the study was to identify and map causal factors that can help explain why few women choose ICT subjects in general and cybersecurity in particular, with the aim of using this knowledge to recruit more women to ICT and cybersecurity.
The report documents that many young women in Norway do not consider ICT as a relevant education and career choice when they are in the transition between upper secondary school and higher education. Based on in-depth interviews with 24 women: 12 in ICT and 12 in cybersecurity, the analysis of factors that determine girls' choice of ICT identifies six "routes" that have led women to an education in ICT and cybersecurity.
The Norwegian women share a relatively negative expectations to the ICT study environment before they enter, but most are also positively surprised when they start, with women's visibility and community characterize many of their stories. Many of the women are enthusiastic about programming, but they also associate it with a typical boys' relationship to ICT. Several of the women refer to Pippi Longstocking's motto and thus create a room for women who do not have the same experience as men: "I have never done this before, so I'm probably really good at this."
Based on the identified challenges and barriers for women to enter ICT education the report provides recommendations and proposes goals for future efforts to recruit women to ICT studies.
... These authors found that women with low gender identification and low implicit stereotyping scored best on the mathematical aptitude test and women who scored high on both measures were least inclined to pursue careers in mathematics. Recent findings suggest that having a female teacher may make a difference when girls are confronted with the stereotype of boys doing better than girls in STEM classes (Master, Cheryan, & Meltzoff, 2014) and that by diversifying stereotypes this might reduce their impact as gatekeepers and help interest girls in STEM fields (Cheryan, Master, & Meltzoff, 2015). ...
The ways in which women and men differ in intelligence and specific cognitive abilities are among psychology’s most heated controversies. Massive amounts of data show that although there are some on average differences in specific cognitive abilities, there is considerable overlap in the male and female distributions. There are no sex differences in general intelligence – standardized IQ tests were written to show no differences, and separate assessments that were not written with this criterion show no differences in general intelligence. There are more males in some categories of mental disability that are genetically linked, but there are no genetic explanations for differential achievement at the high end of the distributions. Average between-sex differences on specific cognitive abilities – notably reading and writing (female advantage) and some mathematical and visuospatial abilities (male advantage) – often show considerable cross-cultural variation in effect size. Additionally, there have been changes over time so that any conclusions about this controversial topic that we make today may need to be revised in the future.
... There are prevalent cultural stereotypes in Western countries associating boys and men with many STEM fields (Master, Cheryan, & Meltzoff, 2014). We will refer to these stereotypes collectively as STEM-gender stereotypes. ...
There is a need to help more students succeed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, with particular interest in reducing current gender gaps in motivation and participation. We propose a new theoretical model, the STEreotypes, Motivation, and Outcomes (STEMO) developmental model, to account for and integrate recent data emerging in social and developmental psychology. Based on this model, we synthesize research suggesting that social factors, such as stereotypes and self-representations about "belonging," are powerful contributors to observed gender differences in STEM interest and academic outcomes. The review has four parts. First, we examine how cultural stereotypes specific to STEM contribute to gender gaps by negatively impacting interest and academic outcomes. Second, we review the central role of the self-representations affected by those stereotypes, including the particular importance of a sense of belonging. Third, we discuss various interventions that buffer against stereotypes and enhance a sense of belonging to reduce gender gaps in STEM interest and academic outcomes. Finally, we suggest theory-driven directions for future research. By organizing the research in this way, our review and theoretical analysis clarify key factors contributing to current gender gaps in STEM and mechanisms by which psychological interventions can help address STEM gender gaps.
... Rather, choices are shaped by the larger meaning of what it means to be a "science person." Two types of stereotypes exist that serve as barriers to girls adopting a STEM-identity and entering STEM fields, namely the perceptions of the kind of people who belong in STEM (including beliefs about one's own abilities) and perceptions of the type of work done in STEM (Master et al., 2014). ...
... Despite awareness initiatives, a recent study found that men failed to acknowledge the existence of gender differences or bias, despite evidence indicating that such differences or bias exists [46]. Several groups have found that diverse role models have a positive impact on women in STEM disciplines [47][48][49]. Because faculty research mentors are role models, this study examines the impact of faculty rank and faculty-student gender match on research productivity of both male and female undergraduate research students. ...
For undergraduate students, involvement in authentic research represents scholarship that is consistent with disciplinary quality standards and provides an integrative learning experience. In conjunction with performing research, the communication of the results via presentations or publications is a measure of the level of scientific engagement. The empirical study presented here uses generalized linear mixed models with hierarchical bootstrapping to examine the factors that impact the means of dissemination of undergraduate research results. Focusing on the research experiences in physics and chemistry of undergraduates at four Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) from 2004–2013, statistical analysis indicates that the gender of the student does not impact the number and type of research products. However, in chemistry, the rank of the faculty advisor and the venue of the presentation do impact the number of research products by undergraduate student, whereas in physics, gender match between student and advisor has an effect on the number of undergraduate research products. This study provides a baseline for future studies of discipline-based bibliometrics and factors that affect the number of research products of undergraduate students.
... If students feel similar to someone in STEM, this can help them see how they themselves can fit into STEM as well. Other research shows that role model gender may matter most in cases when girls are very concerned about ability stereotypes (Master, Cheryan, and Meltzoff 2014). ...
... If students feel similar to someone in STEM, this can help them see how they themselves can fit into STEM as well. Other research shows that role model gender may matter most in cases when girls are very concerned about ability stereotypes (Master, Cheryan, and Meltzoff 2014). ...
There is a gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. This presents a worldwide problem of inequity. Sociocultural stereotypes associating STEM with males act as barriers that prevent girls from developing interests in STEM. This article aims to show that we can increase equity and enhance outcomes for a broader number of children around the world by integrating psychological and educational science. The article discusses four strands of research in an effort to build a bridge between psychological science and educational practice and policy. First, it describes how stereotypes can act as barriers that prevent girls from developing interests in STEM. Second, it summarizes psychological experiments demonstrating that counteracting stereotypes can increase girls’ interest in enrolling in STEM courses. Third, it examines new results showing that children adopt the pervasive stereotypes of their culture starting from surprisingly young ages, and it shows that children’s stereotypes influence their academic attitudes and performance. Fourth, it describes innovative practical interventions that can increase and equalize motivation and engagement in STEM for both boys and girls. In each of these sections, the authors link scientific findings with educational applications. Cultural stereotypes contribute to educational inequities, but scientists, educators, and policymakers can together make a difference to reduce stereotyping and boost girls’ interest in STEM worldwide.
... For example, Galdi et al. (2014) found that girls in first grade performed significantly better on a math test after briefly viewing a picture of a girl correctly answering a math question and a boy providing an incorrect answer, as opposed to when the gender of the characters was reversed (i.e., the girl was incorrect and the boy was correct), and this was mediated by girls' implicit math-gender stereotyping following the picture intervention. Master, Cheryan, and Meltzoff (2014) also showed that female teachers can help to reduce adolescent girls' concerns about being negatively stereotyped in computer science courses once stereotype threat has been activated. ...
The threat of being negatively stereotyped in mathematics can impair the performance of women on difficult math tests, a phenomenon referred to as stereotype threat (ST). This phenomenon may help to explain why there are fewer women than men pursuing and succeeding in scientific careers. Although ST effects have emerged repeatedly in studies with college-aged women, far less research to date has examined when and how ST affects the performance of girls in this domain. In this paper we present evidence that gender stereotypes, particularly implicit stereotypes, begin to form in early elementary school and provide a continuing, yet in many ways "hidden" barrier to girls' future advancement in scientific domains. We then review both lab and field studies showing that children as young as 5 years of age are susceptible to the influence of both negative and positive stereotypes. The implications of these findings for tackling the thorny issue of ST and for educational interventions are discussed.
... blocks) as early as age 4, and may be continuously affecting older girls' performance through their stereotypical attitudes towards LEGO blocks (e.g., whether their favorite toy was LEGO blocks and how frequently they played with blocks at home). In the third paper, Master, Cheryan, and Meltzoff (2014) present data suggesting that female teachers can help to reduce adolescent girls' concerns about being negatively stereotyped in computer science courses once stereotype threat has been activated. In the fourth paper, Chan and Rosenthal (2014) test working memory capacity as a moderator of stereotype threat in the math domain among Hong-Kong adolescents, extending previous research on young adults from STEM fields (Régner, Smeding, Gimmig, Thinus-Blanc, Monteil, & Huguet, 2010). ...
... A large body of research on stereotype threat has investigated the consequences of concerns about being judged through the lens of a negative stereotype (Steele, 1997). This research has shown that negative stereotypes about girls' math abilities hinder their math performance (Huguet and Regner, 2007; see also Spencer et al., 1999;Master et al., 2014). There are three ways in which the work presented here differs from this established work on stereotype threat. ...
Despite having made significant inroads into many traditionally male-dominated fields (e.g., biology, chemistry), women continue to be underrepresented in computer science and engineering. We propose that students' stereotypes about the culture of these fields-including the kind of people, the work involved, and the values of the field-steer girls away from choosing to enter them. Computer science and engineering are stereotyped in modern American culture as male-oriented fields that involve social isolation, an intense focus on machinery, and inborn brilliance. These stereotypes are compatible with qualities that are typically more valued in men than women in American culture. As a result, when computer science and engineering stereotypes are salient, girls report less interest in these fields than their male peers. However, altering these stereotypes-by broadening the representation of the people who do this work, the work itself, and the environments in which it occurs-significantly increases girls' sense of belonging and interest in the field. Academic stereotypes thus serve as gatekeepers, driving girls away from certain fields and constraining their learning opportunities and career aspirations.
... Based on this reasoning, scientists have strived to identify interventions that may tackle such inequality-producing mechanisms. They showed that stereotype threat might be reduced by changing the order of test administration (Smeding, Dumas, Loose, & Régner, 2013), changing task characterization (Huguet & Régner, 2007;, framing the testing situation as a challenge (Alter, Aronson, Darley, Rodriguez, & Ruble, 2010), defining oneself in terms of a positively stereotyped identity (Rydell, McConnell, & Beilock, 2009) or a valued attribute (Martens, Johns, Greenberg, & Schimel, 2006), by retraining stereotypes (Forbes & Schmader, 2010), by consciously regulating emotions (Weger, Hooper, Meier, & Hopthrow, 2012), or by providing a positive role model (e.g., Master, Cheryan, & Meltzoff, 2014). ...
The present research tested whether inducing an avoidance motivation context may counteract the detrimental effects of stereotype threat among junior high school girls in physical education classes. We hypothesized that such context would fit with the goal to avoid failure triggered by stereotype threat situations. Effects of regulatory fit were investigated on performance and self-determined motivation. Eighty students were assigned to a 2 (girls or boys) × 2 (stereotype or control condition) × 2 (performance-avoidance goal or performance-approach goal context) factorial design. Among girls, results showed an interaction effect between the stereotype condition and the goal context. While inducing a performance-avoidance goal context impaired performance in the control condition, it led to increased performance and to decreased controlled motivation in the stereotype condition. No significant interaction effect was observed among boys. Overall, the results are in line with regulatory fit theory.
Bu araştırmanın amacı, "Erken Çocuklukta STEM Öğretmen Eğitimi Programının" erken çocukluk öğretmenlerine yansımalarının incelenmesidir. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu, kartopu örnekleme yöntemi ile belirlenen 12 erken çocukluk öğretmeni oluşturmaktadır. Karma deneysel desenin kullanıldığı bu araştırmanın nicel ve nitel olmak üzere iki boyutu bulunmaktadır. Nicel boyutta, öğretmen eğitim programının erken çocukluk öğretmenlerinin STEM eğitimine yönelik tutumları, STEM uygulama öz-yeterlikleri ve öğretimsel inançlarına etkisi yarı deneysel desen türlerinden kesikli-zaman serileri deseni ile, nitel boyutta ise uygulama sürecine ilişkin öğretmenlerin deneyimleri ve bu deneyimlere yönelik algıları fenomonoloji deseni aracılığıyla incelenmiştir. STEM eğitim programı 9 modül, 43 etkinlik ve 22 oturumdan oluşan 12 haftalık bir programdır. Modüller, tanıtım, sunum, etkinlikler, tartışma, eylem planlama ve değerlendirme kısımlarından oluşmaktadır. Her modül erken STEM eğitiminin farklı bir boyutuna odaklanmaktadır. Bu boyutlar arasında STEM eğitimi ile ilgili temel kavramlar, STEM disiplinlerinin içeriği, resimli çocuk kitapları ile STEM, sınıf dışında STEM, kodlama ve robotik uygulamalar, çocuklarla mühendislik uygulamaları, öğrenme merkezlerini düzenleme, aile katılımı ve değerlendirme yer almaktadır. Katılımcılara eğitim programı uygulanmadan önce ön test verileri öz-değerlendirme formu, modül kazanımları öz-değerlendirme formu, öğretmen inançları anketi, STEM eğitimi uygulamaları öz-yeterlik ölçeği, STEM eğitimine yönelik tutum ölçeği, modül değerlendirme formu, gözlemci değerlendirme formu ve yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu aracılığıyla toplanmıştır. Eğitim programının uygulamasının ardından aynı ölçme araçları son test olarak tekrar uygulanmıştır. Ayrıca, eğitim sürecinde öğretmenlerin çocuklar için hazırlamış oldukları STEM etkinlikleri "etkinlik değerlendirme formu" aracılığıyla değerlendirilmiştir. Nicel veriler Wilcoxon işaretli sıralar testi, nitel veriler ise içerek analizi ile çözümlenmiştir. Bulgular; eğitim programının katılımcı öğretmenlerin STEM eğitimine yönelik tutumları, STEM uygulamaları öz-yeterlikleri ve öğretimsel inançları üzerinde olumlu etkileri olduğunu göstermektedir. Araştırmada, öğretmenlerin STEM eğitimine yönelik tutum ölçeği alt boyutlarından anlamlılık ve yapılabilirlik puanlarının ön ve son test ölçümleri arasında, son test ölçümleri lehine istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir farklılık olduğu saptanmıştır. Öğretimsel inanç ölçeği alt boyutlarından olan, yapılandırmacı inançlar ve geleneksel inançlar puanlarının ön test ve son test ölçümleri arasında, yapılandırmacı inançlarda son test, geleneksel inançlarda ise ön test lehine, istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir farklılık olduğu belirlenmiştir. Ek olarak, eğitim programının katılımcı öğretmenlerin STEM eğitimine yönelik bakış açılarını etkilediği, içerik, 21. yüzyıl, pedagoji, bağlam ve entegrasyon bilgi ve becerileri ile ilgili kazanımlarını desteklediği, erken çocuklukta STEM eğitiminin önemine yönelik farkındalıklarını artırdığı ve STEM öğretmeni algılarını etkilediği saptanmıştır. Bulgular, STEM öğretmen eğitiminin erken çocukluk öğretmenlerine olumlu yansımaları olduğuna işaret etmektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Erken çocuklukta STEM, STEM öğretmen eğitimi, tutum, öz-yeterlik, öğretimsel inanç, STEM deneyimleri.
This study aimed to examine the reflections of the "Early Childhood STEM Teacher Training Program" on early childhood teachers. The participants of the study consisted of 12 pre-school teachers determined by the snowball sampling method. This research, in which a mixed experimental design was used, had quantitative and qualitative dimensions. The quantitative dimension of the study investigated the effects of the teacher training program on the attitudes of early childhood teachers towards STEM education, STEM practices self-efficacy, and instructional beliefs, with the discrete-time series design, which is one of the semi-experimental design types. In the qualitative dimension, the teachers' experiences, and perceptions about these experiences were explored through using phenomenology design. The STEM education program is a 12-week program consisting of 9 modules, 43 activities, and 22 sessions. Modules consisted of a presentation, activities, discussion, action planning, and evaluation sections. Each module focused on a different aspect of early STEM education. These dimensions included the basic concepts of STEM education, the content of STEM disciplines, use of illustrated children's books, STEM outside the classroom, coding and robotic practices, engineering practices with children, organizing learning centers, family participation, and evaluation. Before implementing the training program, pre-test data were collected by using the self-evaluation form, module outcomes self-evaluation form, teacher beliefs questionnaire, STEM education practices self-efficacy scale, attitude scale towards STEM education, module evaluation form, observer evaluation form, and semi-structured interview form. After the implementation of the training program, the same measurement tools were applied again for the purpose of post-test assessment. In addition, the STEM activities prepared by the teachers for children during the education process were evaluated through the "activity evaluation form". Quantitative data were analyzed by employing the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis. Results showed that the curriculum had positive effects on participant teachers' attitudes towards STEM education, STEM practices self-efficacy, and instructional beliefs. In the study, there were statistically and significantly difference between the pre and post-test measures of the meaningfulness and feasibility scores of the teachers' attitude towards STEM education's sub-dimensions. In the study, it was determined that there was a statistically significant difference between the pre and post-test measures of the meaningfulness and feasibility scores of the teachers' attitude towards STEM education's sub-scales. The difference was in favor of the posttest measurements. It was found that there is a statistically significant difference between the pre-test and post-test measures of the scores of constructivist beliefs and traditional beliefs, which are sub-dimensions of the instructional belief scale, in favor of the post-test for constructivist beliefs and the pre-test for traditional beliefs. In addition, it was determined that the training program influenced participant teachers' perspectives on STEM education, supporting their acquisitions of content, 21st century, pedagogy, context and integration knowledge, and skills, increased their awareness of the importance of STEM education in early childhood, and affected their perceptions about STEM teachers. The findings indicate that STEM teacher training had positive reflections on early childhood teachers. Keywords: STEM in early childhood, STEM teacher training, attitude, self-efficacy, instructional beliefs, STEM experiences.
Women are underrepresented in STEM fields across the world. We investigate a perceptual mechanism that may contribute to this gender disparity beginning in early childhood. We explore how visual information about the gender composition of a group of scientists impacts children's persistence on a STEM task and their evaluations of group members. One hundred sixty-six 4- to 6-year-old children viewed one of four groups of scientists: all-male, all-female, a lone female among all-males, or a lone male among all-females. Whereas children's persistence on a STEM task did not change across conditions, their trait judgments did. Children judged the all-male and all-female group scientists as "hardworking," but judged the lone female scientist as "smart." However, they were as likely to judge the lone male scientist as "smart" as to judge him "hardworking." The role of group visualization as a learning mechanism impacting children's perceptions of scientists as early as the preschool years is discussed.
This paper describes the outcomes of a multi-year large-scale study on Informatics education in school, involving an average of 3,600 teachers per school year of all school levels. The study has been conducted in Italy, where - generally speaking - there is no compulsory informatics education in school. Teachers have voluntarily enrolled in the “Programma il Futuro” project, running since 2014, and have taught short introductory courses in Informatics. Answering - anonymously - to monitoring questionnaires, they have indicated whether girls or boys were more interested in Informatics activities and whether girls or boys were more effective. Answers show that the difference between the number of teachers thinking boys are more interested (or more effective) and the number of those judging girls more interested (or more effective) has constantly decreased over school years during the project. This variation in teachers’ beliefs over school years - that we attribute to their involvement in project activities - is important, since teachers’ beliefs are known to influence students’ motivations, hence their future choices. Our opinion is reinforced by the results of a differential analysis, in each school year, between teachers repeating activities and those executing them for the first time. Moreover, the analysis of disaggregated data shows that the difference between boys and girls relative to interest or effectiveness increases going up in school level. Our results provide an empirical support to the belief that it is important to start Informatics education early in school, before gender stereotypes consolidate.
We examined whether or not self-efficacy plays a role in stereotype-activation effect. We found in Study 1 (N = 46) that compared to being primed with the stereotype of an occupation that required less mental effort (cleaner), participants primed with the stereotype of a highly qualified information technology expert performed better in a general knowledge test. Self-efficacy reliably mediated the effect of stereotype activation on test performance. In Study 2 (N = 46) we found that the group primed with the stereotype of an athlete exhibited greater endurance in a physical test than did those who were primed with the stereotype of a homeless person. These results show that self-efficacy beliefs acted as a mediator in the behavior of the participants. © 2017 Scientific Journal Publishers Limited. All Rights Reserved.
The threat of being negatively stereotyped in mathematics can impair the performance of women on difficult math tests, a phenomenon referred to as stereotype threat (ST). This phenomenon may help to explain why there are fewer women than men pursuing and succeeding in scientific careers. Although ST effects have emerged repeatedly in studies with college-aged women, far less research to date has examined when and how ST affects the performance of girls in this domain. In this paper we present evidence that gender stereotypes, particularly implicit stereotypes, begin to form in early elementary school and provide a continuing, yet in many ways "hidden" barrier to girls' future advancement in scientific domains. We then review both lab and field studies showing that children as young as 5 years of age are susceptible to the influence of both negative and positive stereotypes. The implications of these findings for tackling the thorny issue of ST and for educational interventions are discussed.
Women who have not yet entered science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields underestimate how well they will perform in those fields (e.g., Correll, 2001; Meece, Parsons, Kaczala, & Goff, 1982). It is commonly assumed that female role models improve women’s beliefs that they can be successful in STEM. The current work tests this assumption. Two experiments varied role model gender and whether role models embody computer science stereotypes. Role model gender had no effect on success beliefs. However, women who interacted with nonstereotypical role models believed they would be more successful in computer science than those who interacted with stereotypical role models. Differences in women’s success beliefs were mediated by their perceived dissimilarity from stereotypical role models. When attempting to convey to women that they can be successful in STEM fields, role model gender may be less important than the extent to which role models embody current STEM stereotypes.
Can female science professors benefit women? Women’s negative implicit cognitions about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines impact performance in these fields, marking implicit associations as a space for potential change to improve women’s participation in STEM. Examining college student science majors (N = 320, 63% women) enrolled in chemistry and engineering courses, our study investigates how meaningful contact with female role models impacts women’s implicit cognitions about STEM. We used the Implicit Association Test to measure attitudes toward science, identification with science, and gendered stereotypes about science, and we compared students with female versus male professors. Our study first demonstrates both direct and indirect paths between implicit cognitions and women’s career aspirations in STEM. Next, when female professors were seen as positive role models, women automatically identified with science and stereotyped science as more feminine than masculine. Moreover, viewing professors as positive role models was associated with pro-science career aspirations and attitudes (both implicit and explicit), for men and women alike. The findings suggest that female science professors benefit women provided students identify with them as role models. We conclude that female STEM professors not only provide positive role models for women, but they also help to reduce the implicit stereotype that science is masculine in the culture-at-large. We further discuss how shifting implicit gendered stereotypes about science can impact women’s investment in a science career.
Recent theory and research suggest that certain situational factors can harm women’s math test performance. The three studies presented here indicate that female role models can buffer women’s math test performance from the debilitating effects of these situational factors. In Study 1, women’s math test performance was protected when a competent female experimenter (i.e., a female role model) administered the test. Study 2 showed that it was the perception of the female experimenter’s math competence, not her physical presence, that safeguarded the math test performance of women. Study 3 revealed that learning about a competent female experimenter buffered women’s self-appraised math ability, which in turn led to successful performance on a challenging math test.
We explore the impact of student gender, teacher gender, and their interaction on academic motivation and engagement for 964 junior and middle high school students. According to the gender-stereotypic model, boys fare better academically in classes taught by males and girls fare better in classes taught by females. The gender-invariant model suggests that the academic motivation and engagement of boys and girls is the same for men and women teachers. We also examine the relative contribution of student-, class-, and school-level factors, finding that most variation was at the individual student level. Of the statistically significant main effects for gender, most favoured girls. In support of the gender-invariant model, academic motivation and engagement does not significantly vary as a function of their teacher's gender, and in terms of academic motivation and engagement, boys do not fare any better with male teachers than female teachers.
Individuals’ choice to pursue one academic or professional path over another may feel like a free choice but is often constrained by subtle cues in achievement environments that signal who naturally belongs there and who does not. People gravitate toward achievement domains that feel like a comfortable fit because they are in sync with ingroup stereotypes and away from other domains that feel like an uncomfortable fit because they deviate too far from ingroup stereotypes. Even individuals who are high performers may lack confidence in their ability and withdraw from certain achievement domains—performance and self-efficacy do not always go hand in hand. What factors might release these constraints and enhance individuals’ freedom to pursue academic and professional paths despite stereotypes to the contrary? The present article addresses this question using a new theoretical lens—the stereotype inoculation model—that reveals how ingroup members (experts and peers in high-achievement settings) function as “social vaccines” who increase social belonging and inoculate fellow group members’ self-concept against stereotypes. The model integrates insights from several literatures in social psychology and organizational behavior to articulate predictions accompanied by supporting evidence about when ingroup experts and peers serve as social vaccines and the underlying psychological mechanisms. The article concludes by identifying directions for future research, possible interventions, and policy implications of the model.
The contributing role of stereotype threat (ST) to learning and performance decrements for stigmatized students in highly evaluative situations has been vastly documented and is now widely known by educators and policy makers. However, recent research illustrates that underrepresented and stigmatized students' academic and career motivations are influenced by ST more broadly, particularly through influences on achievement orientations, sense of belonging, and intrinsic motivation. Such a focus moves conceptualizations of ST effects in education beyond the influence on a student's performance, skill level, and feelings of self-efficacy per se to experiencing greater belonging uncertainty and lower interest in stereotyped tasks and domains. These negative experiences are associated with important outcomes such as decreased persistence and domain identification, even among students who are high in achievement motivation. In this vein, we present and review support for the Motivational Experience Model of ST, a self-regulatory model framework for integrating research on ST, achievement goals, sense of belonging, and intrinsic motivation to make predictions for how stigmatized students' motivational experiences are maintained or disrupted, particularly over long periods of time.
Stereotype threat has been proposed as 1 potential explanation for the gender difference in standardized mathematics test performance among high-performing students. At present, it is not entirely clear how susceptibility to stereotype threat develops, as empirical evidence for stereotype threat effects across the school years is inconsistent. In a series of 3 studies, with a total sample of 931 students, we investigated stereotype threat effects during childhood and adolescence. Three activation methods were used, ranging from implicit to explicit. Across studies, we found no evidence that the mathematics performance of school-age girls was impacted by stereotype threat. In 2 of the studies, there were gender differences on the mathematics assessment regardless of whether stereotype threat was activated. Potential reasons for these findings are discussed, including the possibility that stereotype threat effects only occur in very specific circumstances or that they are in fact occurring all the time. We also address the possibility that the literature regarding stereotype threat in children is subject to publication bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).
A longitudinal study examined the relationship between contact with successful ingroup members and women’s stereotypes about their own leadership abilities, career goals, and assertive behavior in class. Upon entry into college and toward the end of their sophomore year we measured (1) participants’ quantity and quality of contact with successful ingroup members (female professors), (2) implicit and explicit leadership self-concept, (3) career goals, and (4) classroom behavior. Frequent contact with ingroup members predicted stronger implicit self-conceptions of leadership and more career ambitions, but only when contact experiences were of high quality rather than superficial. Quality and quantity of contact independently predicted assertive behavior. The findings suggest that changing implicit self-beliefs requires both high quality and frequent exposure to counterstereotypic individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Three studies tested a stereotype inoculation model, which proposed that contact with same-sex experts (advanced peers, professionals, professors) in academic environments involving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) enhances women's self-concept in STEM, attitudes toward STEM, and motivation to pursue STEM careers. Two cross-sectional controlled experiments and 1 longitudinal naturalistic study in a calculus class revealed that exposure to female STEM experts promoted positive implicit attitudes and stronger implicit identification with STEM (Studies 1-3), greater self-efficacy in STEM (Study 3), and more effort on STEM tests (Study 1). Studies 2 and 3 suggested that the benefit of seeing same-sex experts is driven by greater subjective identification and connectedness with these individuals, which in turn predicts enhanced self-efficacy, domain identification, and commitment to pursue STEM careers. Importantly, women's own self-concept benefited from contact with female experts even though negative stereotypes about their gender and STEM remained active.
In many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines, women are outperformed by men in test scores, jeopardizing
their success in science-oriented courses and careers. The current study tested the effectiveness of a psychological intervention,
called values affirmation, in reducing the gender achievement gap in a college-level introductory physics class. In this randomized
double-blind study, 399 students either wrote about their most important values or not, twice at the beginning of the 15-week
course. Values affirmation reduced the male-female performance and learning difference substantially and elevated women's
modal grades from the C to B range. Benefits were strongest for women who tended to endorse the stereotype that men do better
than women in physics. A brief psychological intervention may be a promising way to address the gender gap in science performance
and learning.
What processes best explain women's underrepresentation in science, math, and engineering fields in the U.S.? Do they also explain men's underrepresentation in the humanities? Two survey studies across two U.S. West Coast universities (N = 62; N = 614) addressed these questions in the context of two fields: one male-dominated (computer science) and the other female-dominated (English). Among a set of social predictors-including perceived similarity to the people in the field, social identity threats, and expectations of success-the best mediator of women's lower interest in computer science and men's lower interest in English was perceived similarity. Thus, changing students' social perceptions of how they relate to those in the field may help to diversify academic fields.
People's fear and anxiety about doing math--over and above actual math ability--can be an impediment to their math achievement. We show that when the math-anxious individuals are female elementary school teachers, their math anxiety carries negative consequences for the math achievement of their female students. Early elementary school teachers in the United States are almost exclusively female (>90%), and we provide evidence that these female teachers' anxieties relate to girls' math achievement via girls' beliefs about who is good at math. First- and second-grade female teachers completed measures of math anxiety. The math achievement of the students in these teachers' classrooms was also assessed. There was no relation between a teacher's math anxiety and her students' math achievement at the beginning of the school year. By the school year's end, however, the more anxious teachers were about math, the more likely girls (but not boys) were to endorse the commonly held stereotype that "boys are good at math, and girls are good at reading" and the lower these girls' math achievement. Indeed, by the end of the school year, girls who endorsed this stereotype had significantly worse math achievement than girls who did not and than boys overall. In early elementary school, where the teachers are almost all female, teachers' math anxiety carries consequences for girls' math achievement by influencing girls' beliefs about who is good at math.
People can make decisions to join a group based solely on exposure to that group's physical environment. Four studies demonstrate that the gender difference in interest in computer science is influenced by exposure to environments associated with computer scientists. In Study 1, simply changing the objects in a computer science classroom from those considered stereotypical of computer science (e.g., Star Trek poster, video games) to objects not considered stereotypical of computer science (e.g., nature poster, phone books) was sufficient to boost female undergraduates' interest in computer science to the level of their male peers. Further investigation revealed that the stereotypical broadcast a masculine stereotype that discouraged women's sense of ambient belonging and subsequent interest in the environment (Studies 2, 3, and 4) but had no similar effect on men (Studies 3, 4). This masculine stereotype prevented women's interest from developing even in environments entirely populated by other women (Study 2). Objects can thus come to broadcast stereotypes of a group, which in turn can deter people who do not identify with these stereotypes from joining that group.
Research on stereotype threat has demonstrated that when targets are forced to contend with the threat of being negatively stereotyped, their academic performance suffers (C. M. Steele & J. Aronson, 1995). The present research explored how the targets of negative stereotypes determine when they must contend with this threat. Across 5 experiments, the authors manipulated both the possibility and probability that Black and female students would be stereotyped as unintelligent prior to taking an analytical test. Collectively, these experiments showed that these students contended with stereotype threat only when they perceived that it was both possible and probable that they would be negatively stereotyped. The authors discuss the implications of these findings on the experience of being the target of negative stereotypes and on the academic achievement of Blacks and women.
The authors investigated how a collective self-construal orientation in combination with positive social comparisons "turns off" the negative effects of stereotype threat. Specifically, Experiment 1 demonstrated that stereotype threat led to increased accessibility of participants' collective self ("we"). Experiment 2 showed that this feeling of "we-ness" in the stereotype threat condition centered on the participants' stereotyped group membership and not on other important social groups (e.g., students). Experiment 3 indicated that in threat situations, when participants' collective self is accessible, positive social comparison information led to improved math test performance and less concern, whereas in nonthreat situations, when the collective self is less accessible, positive comparison information led to worse test performance and more concern. Our final experiment revealed that under stereotype threat, only those comparison targets who are competent in the relevant domain (math), rather than in domains unrelated to math (athletics), enhanced participants' math test performance.
Young adolescents who expected to have a career in science were more likely to graduate from college with a science degree, emphasizing the importance of early encouragement.
Stereotype threat occurs when stereotyped groups perform worse as their group membership is highlighted. We investigated whether stereotype threat is affected by accounts for the origins of stereotypes. In two studies, women who read of genetic causes of sex differences performed worse on math tests than those who read of experiential causes.
Two studies explored the role of implicit theories of intelligence in adolescents' mathematics achievement. In Study 1 with 373 7th graders, the belief that intelligence is malleable (incremental theory) predicted an upward trajectory in grades over the two years of junior high school, while a belief that intelligence is fixed (entity theory) predicted a flat trajectory. A mediational model including learning goals, positive beliefs about effort, and causal attributions and strategies was tested. In Study 2, an intervention teaching an incremental theory to 7th graders (N=48) promoted positive change in classroom motivation, compared with a control group (N=43). Simultaneously, students in the control group displayed a continuing downward trajectory in grades, while this decline was reversed for students in the experimental group.
Sixty elementary-school children (9–10 years old) and 82 adolescents (12–13 years old) completed explicit and implicit measures of racial stereotypes about math. 60 Asian, 42 Latino, 21 White, 15 Black, and four multiracial students participated (42% boys). On the explicit measure, children as early as fifth grade reported being aware of the stereotype that Asians = math, but only adolescents personally endorsed this stereotype. On the implicit measure, there was significant evidence for racial stereotypes about math among adolescents. Across both ages, individual students’ explicit awareness of the stereotype was significantly correlated with their implicit stereotypes. Early adolescence is a key developmental window for discussing stereotypes before they become endorsed as personal beliefs.
This chapter focuses on how stereotype threat is produced and sustained through threatening situational cues in an environment-such as its organization, features, and physical characteristics-that suggest the possible mistreatment or devaluation of stigmatized individuals. First, we illustrate how threatening situational cues engender a vigilance process whereby stigmatized individuals direct attention toward additional cues to determine the value and meaning of their social identity in a setting. We review how both explicit and subtle situational cues elicit stereotype threat, particularly among racial minorities in academic settings and women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) domains. We propose that the meaning people assign to those cues ultimately affects whether they will become vulnerable to-or protected against-stereotype threat. Further, we suggest that situational cues are meaningful to the extent that they elicit identity-related concerns, such as concerns for belonging, institutional fairness, or of being marginalized in a setting. Finally, we explore how "identity-safe" cues in a setting can eliminate stereotype threat by reducing identity threat concerns and signaling to stigmatized individuals that their social identity will not be a liability to their outcomes. Understanding how situational cues trigger and diffuse identity threat offers hope for changing the dynamics of social identity threat and ultimately points toward a new wave of identity threat research-investigating the interactive and contextual nature of identitysafe cues to create environments that are welcoming and comfortable for all groups.
Computer science has one of the largest gender disparities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. An important reason for this disparity is that girls are less likely than boys to enroll in necessary "pipeline courses," such as introductory computer science. Two experiments investigated whether high-school girls' lower interest than boys in enrolling in computer science courses is influenced by stereotypes of the field. We further tested whether these stereotypes can be communicated by the physical classroom environment, and whether changing this environment alters girls' interest. In 2 experiments (N = 269), a computer science classroom that did not project current computer science stereotypes caused girls, but not boys, to express more interest in taking computer science than a classroom that made these stereotypes salient. The gender difference was mediated by girls' lower sense of belonging in the course, even beyond the effects of negative stereotype concerns, expectations of success, and utility value. Girls' lower sense of belonging could be traced to lower feelings of fit with computer science stereotypes. Individual differences in fit with stereotypes predicted girls' belonging and interest in a stereotypical, but not a nonstereotypical, classroom. Adolescence is a critical time for career aspirations. Girls may avoid computer science courses because current prevailing stereotypes of the field signal to them that they do not belong. However, providing them with an educational environment that does not fit current computer science stereotypes increases their interest in computer science courses and could provide grounds for interventions to help reduce gender disparities in computer science enrollment. (PsycINFO Database Record
Although boys and girls start out performing similarly on science, technology engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related school subjects, the gap between them widens as they mature, leading to the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields at the college level and in the workforce. One explanation for this phenomenon is stereotype threat: that females are intimidated by the persistent negative stereotypes about women in STEM fields. Examining the inception and development of stereotype threat among young children is crucial for understanding and bridging the STEM gender gap. Two experiments investigated the effect of stereotype threat on performance on a spatial task among children ages 4 to 10. After a gender identity activation manipulation, children replicated a series of designs with LEGO blocks. In Experiment 1 (N = 22), 4-yearold girls whose gender identity was activated were significantly slower than girls whose gender identity was not activated. In Experiment 2 (N = 160), boys and girls in kinder-garten through third grade did not perform differently in stereotype-threat conditions or a condition where gender was not activated. However, girls were consistently slower at the block-construction task than boys. In addition, older children's speed was predicted by their stereotypical attitudes towards LEGO blocks, whether their favorite toy was LEGO blocks, and how frequently they played with blocks at home. Results suggest that gender stereotypes affect children's performance on a gendered activity as early as age 4 and may be continuously affecting older girls' performance. Implications for understanding precursors of the STEM gender gap are discussed.
Can a subtle linguistic cue that invokes the self motivate children to help? In two experiments, 3- to 6-year-old children (N = 149) were exposed to the idea of “being a helper” (noun condition) or “helping” (verb condition). Noun wording fosters the perception that a behavior reflects an identity—the kind of person one is. Both when children interacted with an adult who referenced “being a helper” or “helping” () and with a new adult (), children in the noun condition helped significantly more across four tasks than children in the verb condition or a baseline control condition. The results demonstrate that children are motivated to pursue a positive identity. Moreover, this motivation can be leveraged to encourage prosocial behavior.
The current work examines whether a brief exposure to a computer science role model who fits stereotypes of computer scientists has a lasting influence on women’s interest in the field. One-hundred undergraduate women who were not computer science majors met a female or male peer role model who embodied computer science stereotypes in appearance and stated interests or the same role model who did not embody these stereotypes. Participants and role models engaged in an interaction that lasted approximately 2 minutes. Interest in majoring in computer science was assessed following the interaction and 2 weeks later outside the laboratory. Results revealed that exposure to the stereotypical role model had both an immediate and an enduring negative effect on women’s interest in computer science. Differences in interest at both times were mediated by women’s reduced sense of belonging in computer science upon interacting with the stereotypical role model. Gender of the role model had no effect. Whether a potential role model conveys to women a sense of belonging in the field may matter more in recruiting women into computer science than gender of the role model. Long-term negative effects of exposure to computer scientists who fit current stereotypes in the media and elsewhere may help explain current gender disparities in computer science participation.
In social psychology, cognitive consistency is a powerful principle for organizing psychological concepts. There have been few tests of cognitive consistency in children and no research about cognitive consistency in children from Asian cultures, who pose an interesting developmental case. A sample of 172 Singaporean elementary school children completed implicit and explicit measures of math-gender stereotype (male=math), gender identity (me=male), and math self-concept (me=math). Results showed strong evidence for cognitive consistency; the strength of children's math-gender stereotypes, together with their gender identity, significantly predicted their math self-concepts. Cognitive consistency may be culturally universal and a key mechanism for developmental change in social cognition. We also discovered that Singaporean children's math-gender stereotypes increased as a function of age and that boys identified with math more strongly than did girls despite Singaporean girls' excelling in math. The results reveal both cultural universals and cultural variation in developing social cognition.
The present research examines undergraduates’ stereotypes of the people in computer science, and whether changing these stereotypes using the media can influence women’s interest in computer science. In Study 1, college students at two U.S. West Coast universities (N = 293) provided descriptions of computer science majors. Coding these descriptions revealed that computer scientists were perceived as having traits that are incompatible with the female gender role, such as lacking interpersonal skills and being singularly focused on computers. In Study 2, college students at two U.S. West Coast universities (N = 54) read fabricated newspaper articles about computer scientists that either described them as fitting the current stereotypes or no longer fitting these stereotypes. Women who read that computer scientists no longer fit the stereotypes expressed more interest in computer science than those who read that computer scientists fit the stereotypes. In contrast, men’s interest in computer science did not differ across articles. Taken together, these studies suggest that stereotypes of academic fields influence who chooses to participate in these fields, and that recruiting efforts to draw more women into computer science would benefit from media efforts that alter how computer scientists are depicted.
African American college students tend to obtain lower grades than their White counterparts, even when they enter college with equivalent test scores. Past research suggests that negative stereotypes impugning Black students' intellectual abilities play a role in this underperformance. Awareness of these stereotypes can psychologically threaten African Americans, a phenomenon known as “stereotype threat” (Steele & Aronson, 1995), which can in turn provoke responses that impair both academic performance and psychological engagement with academics. An experiment was performed to test a method of helping students resist these responses to stereotype threat. Specifically, students in the experimental condition of the experiment were encouraged to see intelligence—the object of the stereotype—as a malleable rather than fixed capacity. This mind-set was predicted to make students' performances less vulnerable to stereotype threat and help them maintain their psychological engagement with academics, both of which could help boost their college grades. Results were consistent with predictions. The African American students (and, to some degree, the White students) encouraged to view intelligence as malleable reported greater enjoyment of the academic process, greater academic engagement, and obtained higher grade point averages than their counterparts in two control groups.
Knowledge of mathematics and the sciences is an essential prerequisite in the pursuit of high-status and well-paid jobs in a technologically advanced workforce. However, there is increasing evidence that this kind of expertise will not keep pace with the demands anticipated in the 21st century. Research that investigates the relation between school culture, socialization, ability, gender and values and the relative degree of influence on adolescent student choice in courses, programs, activities in general, and in science and technology specifically, would contribute significantly to our understanding of the problem. Eccles model on achievement-related choices in education and career decision- making was utilized in the present research. The focus of this article is a report on gender by grade comparisons on several questions pertaining to computer interest and usage, and student choices concerning desirable career characteristics, future plans and likely career choices. Results indicate several significant grade and gender differences. Of particular note are the future career interests of the girls compared to the boys whereby, in general, these career interests are falling along traditional paths.1
Computer science is a rapidly growing field in which women are greatly underrepresented. To increase the number of women in computer science, more needs to be known about the factors that affect girls' interest in the field. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to investigate the role of attitudes in predicting high school girls' interest in computer science and (b) to experimentally manipulate cognitions through intervention to examine possible consequent effects on computer science interest. Results indicated that girls' self-efficacy in, valuing of, and egalitarian attitudes toward computer science were jointly predictive of interest in computer science, though no one construct uniquely predicted interest. In contrast, boys' valuing of computer science was uniquely predictive of interest in computer science beyond the effects of self-efficacy and egalitarian attitudes. Further, girls' valuing of and egalitarian attitudes toward computer science can be increased via intervention. Experimentally induced increases in self-efficacy, valuing, and egalitarian attitudes toward computer science were not, however, causally linked to increases in computer science interest. As in other research, girls' interest in computer science was largely resistant to change. Implications for intervention strategies and theoretical models of the development of nontraditional occupational goals are discussed.
When women perform math, unlike men, they risk being judged by the negative stereotype that women have weaker math ability. We call this predicamentstereotype threatand hypothesize that the apprehension it causes may disrupt women's math performance. In Study 1 we demonstrated that the pattern observed in the literature that women underperform on difficult (but not easy) math tests was observed among a highly selected sample of men and women. In Study 2 we demonstrated that this difference in performance could be eliminated when we lowered stereotype threat by describing the test as not producing gender differences. However, when the test was described as producing gender differences and stereotype threat was high, women performed substantially worse than equally qualified men did. A third experiment replicated this finding with a less highly selected population and explored the mediation of the effect. The implication that stereotype threat may underlie gender differences in advanced math performance, even those that have been attributed to genetically rooted sex differences, is discussed.
Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS), the authors find that the match between teachers' race, gender, and ethnicity and those of their students had little association with how much the students learned, but in several instances it seems to have been a significant determinant of teachers' subjective evaluations of their students. For example, test scores of white female students in mathematics and science did not increase more rapidly when the teacher was a white woman than when the teacher was a white man, but white female teachers evaluated their white female students more highly than did white male teachers.
Increasing the participation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) involves two distinct challenges. One is increasing the retention of women who are already in STEM fields. The second is increasing the recruitment of women who enter the STEM pipeline. Nilanjana Dasgupta (this issue) suggests that female role models assist in both of these efforts by improving women’s performance and sense of belonging in STEM. In the current article, we conceptually differentiate recruitment from retention and propose that although female role models may be effective in the retention of women in STEM, female and male role models can be equally effective in recruitment efforts. For interventions using role models to be most effective, we must understand when female role models matter and when male role models can be just as effective. Doing so helps to ensure we are “rendering onto the right students the right intervention” (Steele, 1997, p. 624).
To date, stereotype threat interventions have been considered interchangeable. Across 4 experiments, the present research demonstrates that stereotype threat interventions need to be tailored to the specific form of experienced stereotype threat to be effective. The Multi-Threat Framework (Shapiro & Neuberg, 2007) distinguishes between group-as-target stereotype threats-concerns that a stereotype-relevant performance will reflect poorly on the abilities of one's group-and self-as-target stereotype threats-concerns that a stereotype-relevant performance will reflect poorly on one's own abilities. The present experiments explored Black college students' performance on diagnostic intelligence tests (Experiments 1 and 3) and women's interest (Experiment 2) and performance (Experiment 4) in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Across the 4 experiments, participants were randomly assigned to experience either a group-as-target or self-as-target stereotype threat. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed that role model interventions were successful at protecting only against group-as-target stereotype threats, and Experiments 3 and 4 revealed that self-affirmation interventions were successful at protecting only against self-as-target stereotype threats. The present research provides an experimental test of the Multi-Threat Framework across different negatively stereotyped groups (Black students, female students), different negatively stereotyped domains (general intelligence, STEM), and different outcomes (test performance, career interest). This research suggests that interventions should address the range of possible stereotype threats to effectively protect individuals against these threats. Through an appreciation of the distinct forms of stereotype threats and the ways in which interventions work to reduce them, this research aims to facilitate a more complete understanding of stereotype threat. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
Investigated whether gender differences in career interests are moderated by educational aspirations, career certainty, grade level, or parental education level. A standardized measure of 14 career interests was administered to 699 junior high and high school students. Career interests were grouped into 3 categories (science/technology, business, art/service). Overall gender differences consistent with traditional sex role stereotypes were found (i,e., males scored higher on the science/technology scales and females scored higher on the art/service scales). Nevertheless, several significant interaction effects, and particularly the gender × educational aspirations × career certainty interaction, served to qualify the gender main effects, suggesting that it may not be entirely useful (or correct) to consider only gender main effects in career research and counseling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A primary goal of scale development is to create a valid measure of an underlying construct. We discuss theoretical principles, practical issues, and pragmatic decisions to help developers maximize the construct validity of scales and subscales. First, it is essential to begin with a clear conceptualization of the target construct. Moreover, the content of the initial item pool should be overinclusive and item wording needs careful attention. Next, the item pool should be tested, along with variables that assess closely related constructs, on a heterogeneous sample representing the entire range of the target population. Finally, in selecting scale items, the goal is unidimensionality rather than internal consistency; this means that virtually all interitem correlations should be moderate in magnitude. Factor analysis can play a crucial role in ensuring the unidimensionality and discriminant validity of scales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
To examine how school characteristics are tied to science and engineering views and aspirations of students who are underrepresented in science and engineering fields, this mixed-methods study explores relationships between aspects of students' science identities, and the representation of women among high school science teachers. Quantitative analyses tested the hypothesis that percent female faculty would have a positive effect on girls' science interests, and perceptions in particular, given the potentially greater availability of women role models. Findings indicate that percent female science faculty does not have an effect on a range of science measures for both male and female students, including the ways in which they understand scientific practice, their science self-concept, and their interest in science-related college majors. As qualitative data demonstrate, this could reflect practical constraints at schools where female faculty are concentrated and narrow perceptions of science teachers and “real” science. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 980–1009, 2007
Two studies examined the extent to which matching on gender determines the impact of career role models on the self. Because women face negative stereotypes regarding their competence in the workplace, they may derive particular benefit from the example of an outstanding woman who illustrates the possibility of overcoming gender barriers to achieve success. In contrast, men may not have the same need for same-gender role models. Study 1 assessed the impact of gender-matched and mismatched career role models on the self-perceptions of female and male participants. In Study 2, female and male participants were asked to describe a career role model who had inspired them in the past. In both studies, results indicated that female participants were more inspired by outstanding female than male role models; in contrast, gender did not determine the impact of role models on male participants.
Using a survey of women science majors, we tested the assumption that women mentors and other women guides help women students pursue the sciences. The survey explicitly distinguished among three types of guides: mentors (who provide psychosocial support), sponsors (who provide instrumental support), and role models (who act as examples) encountered before and during college. We found that over 90% of the women had a guide of one type or another, that mentors were most influential to women's pursuit of science, and that guides during college were more influential than guides prior to college. Participants reported having more female than male guides overall, but that some of the most influential guides were men.
Stereotype threat impairs performance in situations where a stereotype holds that one’s group will perform poorly. Two experiments investigated whether reminding women of other women’s achievements might alleviate women’s mathematics stereotype threat. In Experiment 1, college women performed significantly better on a difficult mathematics test when they were first told that women in general make better participants than men in psychology experiments. In Experiment 2, college women performed significantly better on a difficult mathematics test when they first read about four individual women who had succeeded in architecture, law, medicine, and invention. The results are seen as having implications for theories of stereotype threat, self-evaluation, and performance expectations.
Standardized tests continue to generate gender and race gaps in achievement despite decades of national attention. Research on “stereotype threat” (Steele & Aronson, 1995) suggests that these gaps may be partly due to stereotypes that impugn the math abilities of females and the intellectual abilities of Black, Hispanic, and low-income students. A field experiment was performed to test methods of helping female, minority, and low-income adolescents overcome the anxiety-inducing effects of stereotype threat and, consequently, improve their standardized test scores. Specifically, seventh-grade students in the experimental conditions were mentored by college students who encouraged them either to view intelligence as malleable or to attribute academic difficulties in the seventh grade to the novelty of the educational setting. Results showed that females in both experimental conditions earned significantly higher math standardized test scores than females in the control condition. Similarly, the students—who were largely minority and low-income adolescents—in the experimental conditions earned significantly higher reading standardized test scores than students in the control condition.
A total of 247 American children between 6 and 10 years of age (126 girls and 121 boys) completed Implicit Association Tests and explicit self-report measures assessing the association of (a) me with male (gender identity), (b) male with math (math-gender stereotype), and (c) me with math (math self-concept). Two findings emerged. First, as early as second grade, the children demonstrated the American cultural stereotype that math is for boys on both implicit and explicit measures. Second, elementary school boys identified with math more strongly than did girls on both implicit and self-report measures. The findings suggest that the math-gender stereotype is acquired early and influences emerging math self-concepts prior to ages at which there are actual differences in math achievement.
In 4 experiments, the authors showed that concurrently making positive and negative self-relevant stereotypes available about performance in the same ability domain can eliminate stereotype threat effects. Replicating past work, the authors demonstrated that introducing negative stereotypes about women's math performance activated participants' female social identity and hurt their math performance (i.e., stereotype threat) by reducing working memory. Moving beyond past work, it was also demonstrated that concomitantly presenting a positive self-relevant stereotype (e.g., college students are good at math) increased the relative accessibility of females' college student identity and inhibited their gender identity, eliminating attendant working memory deficits and contingent math performance decrements. Furthermore, subtle manipulations in questions presented in the demographic section of a math test eliminated stereotype threat effects that result from women reporting their gender before completing the test. This work identifies the motivated processes through which people's social identities became active in situations in which self-relevant stereotypes about a stigmatized group membership and a nonstigmatized group membership were available. In addition, it demonstrates the downstream consequences of this pattern of activation on working memory and performance.
A general theory of domain identification is used to describe achievement barriers still faced by women in advanced quantitative areas and by African Americans in school. The theory assumes that sustained school success requires identification with school and its subdomains; that societal pressures on these groups (e.g., economic disadvantage, gender roles) can frustrate this identification; and that in school domains where these groups are negatively stereotyped, those who have become domain identified face the further barrier of stereotype threat, the threat that others' judgments or their own actions will negatively stereotype them in the domain. Research shows that this threat dramatically depresses the standardized test performance of women and African Americans who are in the academic vanguard of their groups (offering a new interpretation of group differences in standardized test performance), that it causes disidentification with school, and that practices that reduce this threat can reduce these negative effects.
Collective threat is the fear that an in-group member's behavior might reinforce a negative stereotype of one's group. In a field study, self-reported collective threat was higher in stereotyped minorities than in Whites and was linked to lower self-esteem in both groups. In 3 experimental studies, a potentially poor performance by an in-group member on a stereotype-relevant task proved threatening, as evidenced by lower self-esteem among minority students in 2 experiments and women in a 3rd experiment. The latter study demonstrated the generality of collective threat. Collective threat also undermined academic performance and affected self-stereotyping, stereotype activation, and physical distancing from the in-group member. Results further suggest that group identification plays a role in whether people use an avoidance or challenge strategy in coping with collective threat. Implications for theories of social identity and stigmatization are discussed.
Although women are underrepresented in the field of economics, many see little need for intervention, arguing that women are inherently less interested in economics, or are less willing or able to get the math skills skills needed to do well in the subject. At the same time, others support active efforts to increase the number of women in the field, citing other possible causes of their current underrepresentation. These people argue, for example, that women are deterred from entering the field because of a lack of female role models, or that women are discouraged by an unappealing classroom environment. This study assesses these hypotheses by examining factors that influence undergraduate students' decisions to become economics majors using a survey of students in the introductory economics course at Harvard University as well as data on an entire class of students from Harvard's registrar. We find that although women in the introductory economics course at Harvard tend to begin the course with a weaker math background than men, math background does not explain much of the gender difference in students' decisions about majoring in economics. The class environment and the presence or absence of role models also do not explain much of the gender gap. On the other hand, women do less well in economics relative to other courses than men do, and controlling for this difference in relative performance significantly diminishes the estimated gender gap. An economically large but statistically insignificant difference between sexes in the probability of majoring in economics remains, however, which may be due to differing tastes or information about the nature of economics.
Although it is widely supposed that a college's female undergraduate enrollment in the sciences and engineering can be increased by raising female representation on the faculties in those fields, that proposition has not been subjected to serious statistical analysis. The authors of this paper analyze panel data from three quite different educational institutions-Princeton University, the University of Michigan, and Whittier College-to examine the relationship between the gender composition of the students in an academic department and the gender composition of its faculty at the time the students were choosing their majors. They find no evidence that an increase in the share of women on a department's faculty led to an increase in its share of female majors. (Abstract courtesy JSTOR.)