Running Head: GIRLS IN STEM 1

Engaging Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math

Alahna Vondette

ETD 624

Saginaw Valley State University

Girls in STEM 2

Abstract

The review of literature looked at 25 sources that dealt with the issue of engaging girls in STEM

and why girls have low interest to go into STEM careers. There are four sections that discuss the

main topics about girls in the STEM pipeline. The four topics include gender gaps and racial

issues, stereotypes about women, implementations for engagement, and career decision making

for STEM fields. All information compiled related to increasing the engagement and interest for

girls in STEM fields, and why interest and engagement are low to begin with.

Keywords: STEM education, girls, research/study, interest, young adolescents

Girls in STEM 3

Table of Contents

Abstract 2

Table of Contents 3

Literature ReviewIntroduction 4Issues with Gender Gap 4Stereotypes about Women 6Implementations for Engagement 8Career Decision Making 11Conclusions 13

References 14

Girls in STEM 4

Literature Review

Since the integration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs in

schools around the world, there had been a great deal of discussion on how to engage all students

in STEM fields. There were gender and racial barriers that hindered some students from reaching

their full potential in the STEM world. In more recent years, there had been studies conducted to

gage which students were not being reached who could be possible leaders in STEM fields one

day (Grossman, 2013; Shoffner, 2014). Girls in STEM had low engagement and there were

multiple reasons why this would happen. Important concepts to consider when determining why

girls were less interested in STEM were issues involved with gender gap, racial biases, and the

stereotype that woman were nurturers. There were a multitude of implementations that had been

used to increase engagement for girls in STEM fields and to encourage their decision to pursue a

career in a STEM related field. The following review covered the important concepts to

understand why girls were less interested in STEM and how to increase engagement to help

choose a STEM career.

Issues with Gender Gap

Gender gap was well documented in STEM because across the world STEM fields were

found to be more male oriented and suitable for males than females no matter what age. Males

were known for testing better in the math and sciences which was why there was a gender gap

documented in STEM. Since the research was conducted worldwide, the gender gap issue could

not be pinpointed to one part of the world. Societal beliefs were part of females’

underrepresentation in STEM fields. Facebook was used to survey participants in this study

(Forgasz, Leder, & Tan, 2014). The gender gap was smallest in middle school. Students were

still coming into themselves and societal beliefs were not yet ingrained into their minds. A study

conducted by Beekman and Ober used a very wide range of students in Indiana to research the

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gender gap in grades 3 through 10. “Indiana has 75,000-80,000 students per grade level and

provides about 4.2 million students for the nine-year period studied” (Beekman & Ober, 2015, p.

36). Aggregated data showed middle school was the best time to influence and interest female

students in STEM fields. Females in middle school were much easier to influence into

developing an interest in STEM-related fields (Beekman & Ober, 2015).

Research had shown that girls can still be engaged in STEM starting in high school. The

Female Recruits Explore Engineering (FREE) and Pathways Project were interventions used

with 131 high-achieving girls in 10th grade to explore engineering projects that ultimately led to

an increase in girls interested in STEM careers. “We found that although the participants began

high school with little or no knowledge of engineering, it was easy to develop their interest,

which led them to seriously consider engineering as a college major and future career” (p. 89).

The development in interest was due to interventions involving multiple explorations of

engineering that catered to females. The societal beliefs were not a factor when this program was

introduced (Bystydzienski, Eisenhart, & Bruning, 2015).

Racial biases were another issue that limited females’ potential in STEM fields. There

had been studies that involved students’ perspectives who were poised to contribute to STEM

fields, no matter their gender or race, that documented how students thought they were supported

in regard to science, mathematics, and engineering classes. Logistical analysis showed that

females perceived higher science aspirations when given support. Support for gender and race

microaggressions were found to be a theme. The perceptions of students varied based on barriers,

but were mostly optimistic (Grossman & Porche, 2013).

Another study looked at women and minorities in regard to their involvement in STEM

fields. Female students were not choosing to go into STEM related fields after high school.

Girls in STEM 6

Outcome expectations were predictors of eventual career choice that included generativity and

relational that “had special relevance for the underrepresentation of girls, women, and minorities

in STEM occupations” because they were deciding factors in engagement (Shoffner, Newsome,

Barrio Minton, &Wachter Morris, 2014, p. 104). Concepts that were being taught in STEM

classes were general and not aimed at females and minorities. It was even less likely to be

accepted and succeed in the STEM pipeline being a minority woman because of the racial

criticism and gender biases. A study by Teo (2014) looks closely at the life and effects of gender

and racial biases in the STEM community. Women were not receiving the same treatment as

men in the same jobs. Women were also working twice as hard to advance their career compared

to men.

There had also been research that suggested that in recent years girls had been taking

more mathematics and science classes and had a weaker gender stereotype towards STEM

because the girls were strong in those core subjects. The research was based on recent surveys

from high school girls that reported the gender barrier was lessening to include more girls in

STEM fields (Smeding, 2012; Sparks, 2015). Overall, gender gap in STEM classes was a major

reason less girls were interested in pursuing STEM further than grade school. It was even more

difficult for a woman who was also a minority to be accepted and feel welcomed in the STEM

community.

Stereotypes about Women

Besides gender gap and racial biases, there were other negative stereotypes about women

that led girls in a direction other than STEM careers. “Research demonstrated how negative

stereotypes about women’s math abilities were transmitted to girls by their parents and teachers

as early as preschool and elementary school, thereby shaping girls’ attitudes and ultimately

Girls in STEM 7

undermining their performance and interest in STEM” (Clapham, Ciccomascolo, & Clapham,

2015, p. 40). Clapham conducted a study of middle school girls during a camp to increase

interest in chemistry and physical activity. At the conclusion of the camp, girls’ enjoyment of

chemistry and physical activity had increased.

Stereotypes passed down over the years were known to a great number of people that

included females as being more apt to have nurturing characteristics that would have led them

away from STEM careers. The stereotype of women being more nurturing correlated with not

being interested in STEM fields because women also knew the stereotype and believed that of

themselves. The nurturing characteristic was a stereotype that decreased the interest in STEM

topics (Sinnes & Loken, 2012).

Appealing to women’s interests was one way to increase involvement in STEM fields,

especially engineering. “The representation of women in engineering, in all of its areas and at all

levels, continues to be low. As recently as 2008, only 19% of bachelor’s degrees, 22.9% of

masters, and 14.8% of PhDs in engineering were awarded to women” (Bystydzienski, & Brown,

2012, p. 2). There had been advertisements designed to attract girls to engineering by using

gender-specific strategies such as acknowledging the stereotype of the female need to help

others, to increase girls’ interest in STEM. Advertisements were a lure to gain female’s interest

in becoming involved in concepts and careers related to STEM (Bystydzienski, & Brown, 2012).

Stereotyping of women being nurturers and helpers had not always been true, but societal beliefs

led that to be the general consensus. To play on that belief, a study determined that when girls

are given feminine circumstances in a scientific manner, they were more likely to be interested in

STEM concepts than if masculine topics were used. The use of science concepts with feminine

Girls in STEM 8

circumstances played against the illusion that females can only be nurtures and cannot be

interested in math and science (Kerger, Martin, & Brunner, 2011).

Another concept that helped increase girls’ engagement in STEM fields, and also played

off female stereotypes, had been to increase the number of female teachers in science,

technology, engineering, and mathematics classes. Younger girls, on average, felt more

comfortable with female teachers rather than male teachers. The compatibility between younger

girls and female teachers led to more positive impact from female science, technology,

engineering, and mathematics teachers in high school. The positive impact in high school led

female students to pursue STEM careers once they had reached college (Bottia, Stearns,

Mickelson, Moller, & Valentino, 2015).

Implementations for Engagement

There were a plethora of programs available for girls, to interest them in STEM concepts,

which had been introduced in the past few years. Many of the programs suggested

implementation at an early age because societal beliefs and myths would not yet be instilled. The

most crucial period for implementation was the transition from middle school to high school.

Like it was previously stated, girls did not have preconceived notions about what they should be

interested in and what they should not be interested in during middle school. Increasing interest

in STEM related fields before entering high school did increase the lasting engagement for girls

in those areas (Lawrence, & Mancuso, 2012).

One program that was successful for middle school girls was an educational outreach

chemistry camp. The camp involved 36 girls who spent five days at the University of Rhode

Island Kingston campus and participated in 11 hands-on science activities to increase

engagement in STEM. The hands-on activities were used to first increase interest in science

Girls in STEM 9

concepts then to create lasting involvement between the girls and STEM fields. Each girl filled

out a survey at the end of the camp to record data about their feelings towards the involved

science activities. The analysis of surveys concluded that the majority of the girls had an

increased interest in science after attending the camp (Levine, Serio, Radaram, Chaudhuri, &

Talbert, 2015).

Wang, Billington, and Chen (2014) conducted a study that focused on middle school girls

as well centered on an after school program. The after school program was used to engage girls

in STEM with different lessons designing hair accessories because they had a pre-existing

interest with the items. It was “noticed that the girls had diverse hair textures and styles and that

they braided each other’s hair as a game” (p. 54). Feminine additions to STEM concepts increase

the interest of the information the girls were learning. The research concluded that using a pre-

existing interest helped to engage girls in STEM.

Engineering is Elementary started a program to look at how to engage girls in STEM.

The program engaged girls by using lesson solutions to practical problems and creating an

interest in designing. This program also used lessons that involved interests that the girls

previously had to engage them further. Engineering is Elementary worked with upper elementary

and middle school girls to analyze how to continue to engage girls in STEM (Cunningham, &

Higgins, 2015). Stoeger, Duan, Schirner, Greindl, and Ziegler (2013) conducted a study on the

effectiveness of an online mentoring program for middle and high school girls to gage the

interest levels in STEM. About the effectiveness of mentoring, Stoeger, Duan, Schirner, Greindl,

and Ziegler (2013) stated:

Mentors help their mentees to, for instance, acquire knowledge and effective action

options in STEM which can lead to learning and achievement gains. They help improve

Girls in STEM 10

their mentees' subjectively perceived action options in STEM by offering suggestions

about effective learning strategies, by contributing to a strengthening of their mentees'

self-confidence, or by helping mentees deal with setbacks. Mentors also support their

mentees in setting appropriate and challenging goals. They motivate mentees for STEM

activities and increase their interest in STEM topics through conversations and learning

activities. (pp. 409)

After one year, the interest levels for short-term and long-term desires in STEM to be greater.

The study used other female mentors to help increase interest in STEM for the middle and high

school girls.

In another study, upper elementary students of low socioeconomic status were studied

during a pullout STEM program. The pullout STEM program was used to determine if there was

an increase of desire to continue in STEM education once they had moved on to middle school.

The study of the program yielded an increase in the number of students who wanted career

education opportunities in the realm of science, technology, engineering, and math (Dickerson,

Eckhoff, Stewart, Chappell, & Hathcock, 2013). All programs evaluated showed an increase in

engagement, interest, and desire to pursue STEM fields. The inclusion of a pre-existing interest

for female students made the outcome of the studies more likely to be increased in the

engagement in STEM for the female students.

Career Decision Making

Based on a study by Tan, Calabrese Barton, Kang, and O’Neill (2013) in the United

States in 2010, there were only 18.1% of engineering degrees awarded to women, but 58% of the

college enrollment was women. This data “clearly indicates a disconnect between girls’ science

achievement and their desire to pursue STEM careers” (p. 1144). In comparison to boys, girls

Girls in STEM 11

had been scoring higher on state tests in science and in math, but they had much lower

percentages in choosing to pursue a degree in a STEM field, especially in engineering. The

research was understandable in comparison to the lack of interest in STEM fields for females in

middle school and high school. The low percentages of girls choosing to pursue a degree in a

STEM field was not related to test scores in those subjects, but was related to the low

engagement and interest in STEM fields for females (Tan, Calabrese Barton, Kang, & O’Neill,

2013).

The likelihood of female students continuing to follow the path of a STEM career was

low because of a few key factors. Those key factors were low level of interest in STEM, gender

stereotypes that accompany STEM fields, lack of parent involvement, and high job-related

expectations. Expectations for jobs in STEM related fields are higher and cause more pressure on

the employee. The pressure situations and higher expectations cause females to navigate away

from career fields related to STEM. The research also brought to light a new concept

surrounding low interest in STEM careers that was lack of parent involvement. Parents who are

not interested in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics were not going to instill an

interest in those subjects for their children (Bieri Buschor, Berweger, Keck Frei, & Kappler,

2013).

According to a different study, parental influence and involvement had increased

achievement in STEM courses for high-achieving girls in high school. Since the girls were

previously labeled as high achieving, especially in science and math courses, they were part of a

study that focused on the interests in STEM of girls who already excelled in those subjects. The

results of the study concluded that parental involvement with the high-achieving girls had

increased, but more modifications were needed for information on the level of interest for low-

Girls in STEM 12

achieving girls to succeed in a STEM career (Rozek, Hyde, Svoboda, Hulleman, & Harackiewicz

(2015). The Study of Mathematically Precious Youth (SMPY) had identified girls who are high-

achieving and had a high potential, early on, to succeed in a STEM career. SMPY wanted to give

the girls educational interventions to increase their chances of success in the pursuit of a career in

STEM. Since the girls were identified early on, SMPY followed the course of their schooling to

provide interventions along the way that would steer the girls toward choosing a career in a

STEM related field in the future (Benbow, 2012).

Another study discussed the impact of taking STEM classes early on to increase interest

in those areas. Females who only took STEM classes in high school and not middle school were

not prepared fully for a career in STEM fields because of the lack of interest and knowledge in

those subjects. Also, gender and racial differences in the students taking the STEM courses

affected the outcome of the number of students who chose to follow a career in a STEM related

field (Bottia, Stearns, Mickelson, Moller, & Parker, 2015).

The numbers of people entering positions in STEM fields were low. The encouragement

from other STEM professionals had been very beneficial to gain the attention of future students

to lead them on the path toward a STEM related career. Pre-existing STEM professionals had

succeeded in leading younger students on the STEM career path because influence from a

knowledgeable source increased the likelihood of high-achieving STEM students to pursue a

STEM career (Hall, Dickerson, Batts, Kauffmann, & Bosse, 2011). Girls had many opportunities

to follow the path to a STEM career. Having a female STEM professional to guide the younger

girls had worked well in most studies.

Girls in STEM 13

Conclusion

There were many issues dealing with why girls were less likely to be interested in STEM

topics, but there were also many studies on how to change that likelihood. Girls had many

opportunities to be involved in programs that had recently been starting to explore the option of

engaging in STEM concepts. Gender gaps and racial biases were identified to be a hindrance to

girls planning to pursue a STEM career. There were also many female stereotypes acknowledged

by the general public to overcome, but there were other female STEM professionals in the midst

to lead the way for the newcomers. Encouraging girls’ involvement in STEM concepts early on

in elementary or middle school helped to instill interest and joy in learning STEM topics later in

life when deciding on a career. Test scores for girls were higher in math and science. Increasing

engagement for girls in STEM had been the way to increase the number of females entering the

STEM pipeline.

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