African American Girls In STEM Education Essay
Dr. Chandra Prescod-Weinstein is the 63rd African-American woman to attain a doctorate in physics, and specializes in theoretical physics. Upon further reading, about Dr. Prescod-Weinstein, it begged the question--What are astrophysicists, and why are there a small number of African-American women for who attain PhDs in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) related fields? Both globally and domestically, there are major differences in girls educated in STEM.
Girls in STEM
Gender differences in STEM education are due to an array of factors, including societal, familial, and cultural influences. Starting in primary school, the presence of female educators whom have a STEM education, play the integral role of being a mentor to female students, and influence their perceptions of women in STEM.
On balance, before one can fathom concepts in math and science the access to a basic education must be granted. In …show more content…
Despite these advances, African-American young women continue to fall behind their counterparts in pursuing STEM related education and careers.
According to research, found that African-American and Hispanic girls say they have an interest in STEM, but have less exposure, less adult support, lower academic achievement, and are more aware of gender barriers. Also, once an African-American student is identified as low performing, they are tracked from primary through secondary education, and placed in lower-level courses (DeSena & Ansalone, 2009; “Teaching Inequity”, 1989). Furthermore, social science has found internalizing gender stereotypes of being insufficient, leads low performance in STEM courses (Girls Scouts of the USA/Girl Scout Research Institute,
Girls in STEM
Gender differences in STEM education are due to an array of factors, including societal, familial, and cultural influences. Starting in primary school, the presence of female educators whom have a STEM education, play the integral role of being a mentor to female students, and influence their perceptions of women in STEM.
On balance, before one can fathom concepts in math and science the access to a basic education must be granted. In …show more content…
Despite these advances, African-American young women continue to fall behind their counterparts in pursuing STEM related education and careers.
According to research, found that African-American and Hispanic girls say they have an interest in STEM, but have less exposure, less adult support, lower academic achievement, and are more aware of gender barriers. Also, once an African-American student is identified as low performing, they are tracked from primary through secondary education, and placed in lower-level courses (DeSena & Ansalone, 2009; “Teaching Inequity”, 1989). Furthermore, social science has found internalizing gender stereotypes of being insufficient, leads low performance in STEM courses (Girls Scouts of the USA/Girl Scout Research Institute,