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Title
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Gender Conception and the Chilly Road to Female Undergraduates' Persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields.
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Creator
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Hughes, Roxanne M.
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Abstract/Description
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Women represent less than a third of undergraduate and graduate degrees in science and engineering (SE). This underrepresentation is not only a social and cultural issue, but it is also cause for alarm with regard to the United States' ability to maintain its technological and economic dominance in the global economy. Research indicates that there are internal and external factors that affect the ability of women to see future success in SE and to identify with the masculine nature of SE....
Show moreWomen represent less than a third of undergraduate and graduate degrees in science and engineering (SE). This underrepresentation is not only a social and cultural issue, but it is also cause for alarm with regard to the United States' ability to maintain its technological and economic dominance in the global economy. Research indicates that there are internal and external factors that affect the ability of women to see future success in SE and to identify with the masculine nature of SE. This study focuses on the role of identity in 26 women's decisions to persist or leave their SE undergraduate degree at the university level. The study utilizes multiple conceptions of identity negotiation to identify how each participant negotiated her own personal identity with that of the SE departmental culture of which she was a part. The findings reveal that only women who participate in redefinition strategies related to their marginalized status are able to persist; those who cannot redefine their marginality in relation to the dominant discourse of SE begin to lose interest or doubt their competence in the field, resulting in their departure from SE. The findings also illustrate additions to current identity frameworks to better understand the role of SE identity for leavers.
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Date Issued
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2012-11-01
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Identifier
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FSU_libsubv1_scholarship_submission_1491575140, 10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2013003752
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Format
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Citation
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Title
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An Investigation into the Longitudinal Identity Trajectories of Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
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Creator
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Hughes, Roxanne M.
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Abstract/Description
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The author examined the longitudinal trajectories of eleven college-age young women who had participated in a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) informal education program during middle school. The program was an all-girls two-week STEM summer camp that exposed young women to STEM professionals and relevant hands-on STEM activities with the goal of improving their interest in STEM fields and motivation to pursue these fields. The participants whose identity trajectories...
Show moreThe author examined the longitudinal trajectories of eleven college-age young women who had participated in a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) informal education program during middle school. The program was an all-girls two-week STEM summer camp that exposed young women to STEM professionals and relevant hands-on STEM activities with the goal of improving their interest in STEM fields and motivation to pursue these fields. The participants whose identity trajectories are discussed in this study are those who responded to at least three of the following: a follow-up survey sent in 2009, 2012, and 2013 and/or interviews that were conducted in 2011. Results indicated that the camp had a positive effect on participants' perceptions of scientists and their work. The results indicate that all participants were still interested in STEM hut half of these young women had chosen a college major that took them off of the legitimately accepted path (e.g., a STEM major) toward a STEM career. This study provides a unique addition to the literature in that it provides a view of STEM identity trajectories over time, specifically focusing on how these women maintained interest or lost interest in STEM after participation in a STEM informal education program for girls. This study provides a reflective look at young women's longitudinal STEM identity trajectories.
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Date Issued
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2015-05-01
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Identifier
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FSU_libsubv1_scholarship_submission_1491574705, 10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2015013035
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Format
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Citation
