Preview

Gender Gap In Education

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1590 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Gender Gap In Education
The hard sciences are still a male dominance field. I happen to be a physics teacher, one of few female physics teachers, in a typically male dominated teaching subject. Even though there has been many advancements by women in the science field, we are still misrepresented and as an educator and a female science teacher, I have a goal to figure out why and how we can change that within my school. The goal of this action research assignment is to determine how to increase the number of female student population enrolling and interest in upper level science courses in the 11th and 12th grades. I have noticed lack of females enrolling in science Advanced Placement (AP) classes or dropping down or out of these classes due to lack of interest or believing it …show more content…
They discuss how “high school years are actually more important than the college years in determining the size of the gender gap in STEM degrees” (Legewie & DiPrete, 2014, p. 260). Riegle-Crumb and Moore (2014) believe that high school physics, typically taught during junior or senior year, is the location at which the pattern of the gender gap starts to become more prevalent.
They both stress the importance of the environment the school creates in terms of STEM related curriculum. Legewie and DiPrete discuss the involvement of teachers and their role in building up female students’ confidence and importance of their role in these types of STEM fields and classes. Also, Riegle-Crumb and Moore, state the role of women in the community with occupations in STEM will have an increasing effect and decrease the gender gap. There needs to be more focus and involvement in creating an environment within the high school for female students to believe the hard sciences can be an option for
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Deborah Tannen But What Do You Mean Analysis
    • 1333 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Deborah Tannen But What Do You Mean Analysis

    In today’s world, more than ever, women are encouraged to pursue careers. Celebrity campaigns, such as one I saw recently on television, with Mckenzie Westmore encouraging young women to join S.T. E. M. fields, to Hillary Clinton being the first female democrat nominee. Yet in school, biases still roam the halls. Girls are generally assumed to be good at language arts and boys are generally assumed to be good at maths and sciences. When I was in grade school I remember teacher’s pairing up boys and girls for the specific reason of “closing the gap”, or more specifically so boys could help girls with math and girls could help the boys stay on track reading. Another instance of this divide in what women and men are capable of would be the instance a friend of mine experienced. She is studying molecular genetics, and tells some of the struggles she faces in a science field simply for being a woman, one being at her lab study job. When she first started working there, her boss would not allow her to have her own lab, he cited needing to know she was competent first. For over a year she sorted and filed papers, but when a new male was…

    • 1333 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Patsy Takemoto Mink: The Fight For Gender Equality
    • 2405 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Patsy Takemoto Mink: The Fight For Gender Equality

    After Mink’s death in 2002, while still representing Hawaii in the U.S. Congress, Title IX was renamed the Patsy Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act to honor her achievements, and President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014 (Langston; Mertens). Unfortunately, despite the dramatic educational and occupational gains made by women since the early 1970s, there is still work to be done to achieve gender equity in educational settings and beyond. First, women continue to be underrepresented in STEM (i.e., science, technology, engineering and math) academic fields and careers (“The Next Generation of Title IX”). Subtle stereotypes and gender norms, still common in the media and in educational settings, reduce girls’ confidence and lead to the belief that they may not be capable of succeeding in math and science (Duncan and Jarrett). Effective programs are needed to address this discrimination and provide opportunities for girls and young women to explore and engage in STEM studies and career opportunities (“The Next Generation of Title IX”). Second, girls and women still commonly experience discrimination, bullying, and sexual harassment in academic settings that limit their achievement (Nat’l Coalition for Women and Girls in Education 37). Additional legislation and educational programs for primary and secondary schools and…

    • 2405 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis of "Does Gender Matter?"
    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis of "Does Gender Matter?"

    The article begins with a bit of background on the author and then gets straight to the books; Barres uses studies from Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as well as figures on math test scores and science productivity in children of different genders to lay down the framework for the rest of the article. “My main purpose in writing this commentary is that I would like female students to feel that they will have equal opportunity in their scientific careers.” (1) We can take from this that Barres, having been on both sides of the gender spectrum, can give us a point of view on the matter that is not held by many, and through doing so may help to bring the issue of gender discrimination to the surface. The article continues on to suggest people ‘speak out’ when witnessing these injustices towards women in addition to ‘taking action’ to help diversify the leaders in modern science.…

    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    History of Mass Education in Australia
    • 2442 Words
    • 10 Pages

    History of Mass Education in Australia

    Weaver-Hightower , M. (2003). The "Boy Turn" in Research on Gender and Education. Review of Educational Research. Vol. 73, No. 4, pp. 471-498…

    • 2442 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    SOC 333 Week 2 Individual Assignment Gender Role Analysis
    • 490 Words
    • 3 Pages

    SOC 333 Week 2 Individual Assignment Gender Role Analysis

    How is gender shaped by education? Consider the instructional materials used in education, classroom interactions, and communication.…

    • 490 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sociology Assess the View
    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Sociology Assess the View

    One of the main factors is Equal opportunities policies, as it allows pupils to have a better insight on school life. It allows people to be aware of gender issues and teachers are more sensitive to the need to avoid gender stereotyping. The belief that boys and girls are equally capable and entitled to the same opportunities is now part of a mainstream thinking in education and it influences educational policies. For example Girls are encouraged to take up more “laddish” subjects such as Science, Technology and Engineering. With the introduction of the National Curriculum in 1988 helped remove one of the main inequalities throughout the education system as it made most subjects compulsory for both boys and girls. Alison Kelly (1987) argues that by making Science compulsory for both sexes it has helped equalise opportunities.…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    STEM Fields and Gender Gap
    • 3313 Words
    • 11 Pages

    STEM Fields and Gender Gap

    Jackson, S. M., Hillard, A. L., & Schneider, T.R. (2014). Using implicit bias training to improve attitudes toward women in STEM. Social Psychology of Education 17(3) 419-38. doi: 10.1007/s11218-014-9259-5…

    • 3313 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    health and social care summer assignment
    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages

    health and social care summer assignment

    “Anna Douglas, Director of applied science at City Of Islington College, said female role models where key to encouraging young women into stem subjects...” This quote suggests that young women look up to successful female role models which may be a key to them succeeding in education and possibly in their life. Nowadays there is more recognition for female talent as it is acceptable however it wasn’t acceptable many years ago. (There is still recognition to male talents...but it isn’t more important than female talent it is the same.…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Gender Disparities In Career Technical Education
    • 1149 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Gender Disparities In Career Technical Education

    Females and males both perceived technology education classes as "guy" classes and females perceived technology education classrooms as dirty, hence “unfeminine”. Remote locations away from the core of the school building, sexist and dehumanizing comments from male students were all reasons stated by female students as reasons to not enroll. Other accounts portray similar situations in other areas of career technical education and in other places. For example, the number of female technology education students, teachers and teacher educators remain low in British Columbia. This disproportion is explained by continued recruiting inequities, a history of gendering in the field, and resistance to gender-specific interventions (Braundy, O 'Riley, Petrina, Dalley, & Paxton, 2000). In computer-related courses, males continue to dominate in such areas as graphic arts and computer-aided design, whereas females enroll in clerical and data-entry courses, females also lag behind males in taking the advanced placement computer science exam and in recreational and elective use of computers in school (Weinman & Haag, 1999), while undergraduate family and consumer sciences programs, as a whole, remain predominantly female. (Firebaugh & Miller, 2000) A number of states report continuing gender imbalances, reflecting traditional occupational gendering, in…

    • 1149 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Exemplify The Gender Gap
    • 317 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Exemplify The Gender Gap

    Women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors exemplify the gender gap. “Let me tell you about the trouble with girls. You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticize them, they cry,” said Nobel Laureate, Tim Hunt. (Amarante) Hunt believes that women should be segregated from men in the laboratory as they are a distraction to science. Although Hunt received backlash for his comments, it provides an example of the gender biases affecting women in STEM majors.…

    • 317 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Gender Stereotypes In Media
    • 1186 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Gender Stereotypes In Media

    The average American woman cannot possible relate to the stereotyped women in STEM fields shown in the media. These stereotyped characters are “inconsistent with how many women see themselves and how they want others to see them.” They discourage women from pursuing these fields at the risk of also being seen in the same negative portrayal, as being looked down upon as cold, distant, frumpy, unsociable, and on the fringe of society. There cannot possibly be a discussion to increase women’s interest in STEM fields without addressing the American medias portrayal of women that choose those fields. The media can include women in STEM fields without marginlizing the entire group and misrepresenting them. Other countries media outlets already do a very good job at this. Toshiko Sato from Torchwood, which is a BBC show, is a hacker and engineer for a secret government agency. She is smart, resourceful, and very much a woman of science. Toshiko also has friends, is sociable, and goes on dates. She is versed in pop culture and is witty without being insulting to real women who follow similar careers. Toshiko dresses and acts like the average woman. She doesn’t dye her hair, or act and dress in unconventional ways. Toshiko represents the average British woman, and she also happens to be a scientist. If American media represented women in STEM fields the same way across media, it could have a drastic effect on women’s interest in science. They would not see an awkward scientist on the screen, they would see someone very much like them. Someone who bright, strong, passionate, and most importantly,…

    • 1186 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Narrative Essay About Being Oppressed Women
    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Narrative Essay About Being Oppressed Women

    In STEM fields, I’m prone to being looked down upon compared to men and expected to work harder to achieve what I want within my field of interest. One advantage to businesses wanting to increase the number of women in STEM fields, is I can be offered scholarships and more opportunities right after college. A few people would argue that it's a privilege, when it’s just a convenience.…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Boy Problems
    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Boy Problems

    To show the difference of how we pride men and women in the educational field, Ann Hulbert finds that through the statistics of certain fields of degrees and jobs that less men are moving toward more academic areas. Degrees in…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Using Material from Item a and Elsewhere, Asses the View That Gender Differences in Achievement Are Largely the Result of Changes in the Education System. (20 Marks)
    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Using Material from Item a and Elsewhere, Asses the View That Gender Differences in Achievement Are Largely the Result of Changes in the Education System. (20 Marks)

    Using material from Item A and elsewhere, asses the view that gender differences in achievement are largely the result of changes in the education system. (20 marks)…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Phony Gender Wage Gap
    • 1436 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Phony Gender Wage Gap

    In the 21st Century the number of women enrolling in higher education institutions is surpassing the numbers of men enrolled. The graduation rates of women from high school and higher education are most often higher than for men. The number of women graduates from most professional occupations, including higher paying medicine, law and business, will exceed the number of men graduates in the near future. In numerous occupational areas with a majority of women graduates, salaries already surpass salaries in occupational areas with a majority of men graduates.…

    • 1436 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics