Begell House Inc.
Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering
JWM
1072-8325
14
3
2008
SCIENCE MAJORS AND DEGREES AMONG ASIAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS: INFLUENCES OF RACE AND SEX IN "MODEL MINORITY" EXPERIENCES
225-252
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v14.i3.10
Yu
Meng
Georgia Institute of Technology
Sandra L.
Hanson
Department of Sociology, The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064
Both race and sex continue to be factors that stratify entry into science education and occupations in the United States. Asian-Americans (men and women) have experienced considerable success in the sciences and have earned the label of "model minority." The complexities and patterns involved in this success remain elusive. We use several concepts coming out of the status attainment framework and a multicultural gender perspective to explore the way in which race and sex come together to influence choices of science major and degree. Our sample consists of Asian-American and white students in the National Educational Longitudinal Study. Findings suggest that being male and being Asian-American are both associated with higher chances of pursuing majors and degrees in science. The male advantage is greater than the Asian-American advantage. Findings also suggest that race and sex interact in the science decision. For example, race differences (with an Asian-American advantage) in choice of science major are significant for women but not men. Sex differences (with a male advantage) in choice of science major are significant in the white, but not the Asian-American sample. A different set of race and sex patterns is revealed in the science degree models. Processes associated with family socioeconomic status and student characteristics help to explain race and sex patterns. Findings suggest that when Asian-American youths have closer ties to the Asian culture, they are more likely to choose science majors and degrees. Implications for policy, practice, and research in science education are discussed.
DIFFERENTIAL EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN AND MINORITY ENGINEERING STUDENTS IN A COOPERATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM
253-267
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v14.i3.20
Matthew M.
Fifolt
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Gypsy
Abbott
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Although slight gains have been made in attracting women and minority students to the field of engineering, the differences are not great enough to meet current economic demands [National Academy of Sciences (2007). Rising above the gathering storm: Energizing and employing America for a brighter economic future, Washington, DC: National Academies Press]. Therefore, it has become imperative that colleges and universities increase efforts to both recruit and retain these students who express interest in the STEM fields [National Science Foundation (2006), Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering, NSF 4-311, Arlington, VA: NSF]. In engineering, one promising venue for students to gain professional experience as part of their undergraduate training is through cooperative education (co-op). However, there is a dearth of information in the research literature regarding how co-op programs can be structured to address the needs of diverse students. There is consensus, however, about one aspect of addressing the needs of diverse students, namely, mentoring and role models are key strategies for success. In this study, a mixed methods design was used to examine students' perceptions of mentoring in a cooperative education program in a southeastern university. Using Noe's [Noe, R. (1988). An investigation of the determinants of successful assigned mentoring relationships. Personnel Psychology, 1, 457−479] mentoring functions scales, which described psychosocial and career-related support, research findings indicated a statistically significant difference between gender and the psychosocial aspect of mentoring. Analysis of the qualitative data further confirmed differences in cooperative education experiences with respect to both gender and ethnicity.
SEX, CLASS, AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT: PORTIONS DUE TO ACHIEVEMENT VERSUS RECRUITMENT
269-300
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v14.i3.30
Richard M.
Simon
Department of Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University
George
Farkas
Department of Education, University of California, Irvine
Nationally representative data from the National Education Longitudinal Study are used to investigate why males (rather than females) and children of parents with advanced degrees (rather than those from less-educated parents) are more highly represented among physical science bachelor's degrees and graduate students. Parental education is measured by three categories: neither parent has a bachelor's degree, at least one parent has a bachelor's degree, or at least one parent has a degree beyond the bachelor's. Physical science is defined as students majoring in physics, engineering, mathematics, or computer science. The effects of mathematics achievement and effects not accounted for by mathematics achievement (what the authors call "recruitment" effects) are isolated for parental education categories and for sex, allowing inequality in physical science degree attainment to be decomposed into portions due to achievement and portions due to recruitment. Additionally, the results from logistic regressions predicting the attainment of a bachelor's degree in physical science as well as the pursuit of a graduate degree in physical science are presented. It is found that for parental education categories, the gaps in physical science educational attainment are nearly entirely accounted for by differences in mathematics achievement, suggesting that if achievement could be equalized, physical science educational attainment differences among parental education categories would disappear. However, the sex gap in physical science educational attainment operates almost entirely independent of achievement effects, suggesting that if the mathematics achievement distributions of males and females were identical, the sex gap in physical science educational attainment would be unchanged from what it is today.
YOUNG WOMEN IN SCIENCE: IMPACT OF A THREE-YEAR PROGRAM ON KNOWLEDGE OF AND ATTITUDES TOWARD SCIENCE
301-317
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v14.i3.40
Mitzi M.
Schumacher
University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40536-0086, USA
Michelle Natasya
Johnson
University of Kentucky; West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, Charleston, West Virginia
Sondra R.
Floyd
University of Mississippi
Caroline E.
Reid
Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Kentucky 40475, USA
Melody Powers
Noland
Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion, 100 Seaton Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0219
Carl G.
Leukefeld
University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40536-0086, USA
Addressing the factors that discourage high school girls from pursuing careers in science, this intervention targeted young women from rural Appalachia, urging them to pursue scientific careers in drug and alcohol research. This three-year program, for 49 young women entering ninth grade in 12 southeastern Kentucky counties, included a summer camp, Saturday Academies (educational seminars held in their communities), and mentoring by university faculty and community leaders. As hypothesized, findings from analyses of baseline and postsummer session data show a reduction in participants' anxiety regarding science. Participants' scientific knowledge also increased. In turn, their science knowledge scores correlated with their third summer posttest confidence in their ability to learn science and motivation for science as well as the belief that teachers can help. The success of such a program demonstrates that the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics can be ameliorated. Participants' first steps toward successful scientific careers included improving their attitudes toward science as well as increasing their knowledge.
DIVERSE PATHWAYS TO THE PHD: A STUDY OF WOMEN FACULTY IN THE SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING AT A HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTION
319-337
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v14.i3.50
Patricia D.
Witherspoon
The University of Texas at El Paso
Igor
Ryabov
The University of Texas-Pan American
The National Science Foundation's ADVANCE grants for Institutional Transformation have been awarded to institutions to study, and to implement programs to improve, the number of women who are recruited, retained, and promoted as faculty in the sciences and engineering at American universities. At one ADVANCE institution, 57 women faculty in the social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering were interviewed to determine their pathways to the doctoral degree. Through the use of qualitative analyses, this study identified major themes that emerged from the interviews of Anglo, international, and Latina faculty. The findings of the study should contribute to the discourse on underrepresentation of women faculty in the sciences and engineering in general, and Latina faculty in particular.