Trafford Publishing: What Girls Say About Their Science Education Experiences: Is Anybody Really Listening?

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What Girls Say About Their Science Education Experiences: Is Anybody Really Listening?

by Michael Papadimitriou

210 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #04-1235; ISBN 1-4120-3407-8; US$19.99, C$25.00, EUR16.25, £11.26

Describes the science education experiences of 12 young ladies enrolled in high school advanced science courses, and includes profiles for each girl with descriptions of key elements of their experiences.

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About the Book

What Girls Say About Their Science Education Experiences describes the science education experiences of 12 young ladies enrolled in advanced science courses in a Southeast Texas High School. What Girls Say... includes profiles of each girl and topical chapters dealing with generalizations about the key elements of experience that the girls illuminated. Also, a detailed review of the current literature related to girls and science is provided. The strength of the text lies in the use of the participants. words to describe their own experiences.
Unfortunately, despite over 30 years of research related to gender and science education, females still are underrepresented in some upper-level high school science courses, particular college science curricula and majors, and many scientific careers. While boys and girls enter school with equal ability, girls are marginalized in science and math to the point that they trail males in science interest and participation by graduation time. However, such differences have decreased.
While attitudes, achievement levels, and the other components of "the science education experience" have been quantitatively examined, very little qualitative analysis exists to describe the educational experience of females in American high school classrooms from the perspective of the student. A description of this phenomenon as constructed through the experiences of female students represents a worthy pursuit. This book represents an attempt to describe this phenomenon as constructed through the experiences of female students. Very simply, the purpose of this book was to describe the essential elements of the current science education experience as constructed by female physics and advanced chemistry students. The construct of science education experience for females included perceived (a) affective attitudes, (b) achievement and success, (c) ability, (d) cultural factors, (e) social-psychological factors, (f) interpersonal factors, and (g) instructional/teacher factors. All of these topics are addressed in What Girls Say About Their Science Education Experiences.

About the Author

Dr. Mike Papadimitriou lives in Kingwood, Texas with his wife, Donna, and their family pet, Reddog. Mike serves as the science department chair and teaches physics and advanced chemistry at Caney Creek High School in the Conroe Independent School District. In addition, he serves as an adjunct professor in the alternative certification program at Kingwood College.
Mike holds doctoral and specialist degrees in curriculum and instruction with a specialization in science education. He also holds a master*s degree in instructional supervision and a bachelor*s degree in psychology and biology. He is licensed by the State of Texas as a mid-management administrator, instructional supervisor and secondary composite science teacher. He is licensed by the State of Louisiana as a principal, supervisor and chemistry, biology and environmental science teacher.
In addition, Mike is a member of the School Science and Mathematics Association, National Association for Research in Science Teaching, National Education Association, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. He serves as a journal reviewer for School Science and Mathematics. You can e-mail him at mikpap@excite.com.

What Girls Say About their Science Education Experiences
Review of Literature
Despite over 30 years of research related to gender and science education, females still are underrepresented in some upper-level high school science courses, particular college science curricula and majors, and many scientific careers. Very simply, overall science achievement of females continues to lag the achievement of males (Adams, 1996). While boys and girls enter school with equal ability, girls are marginalized in science and math to the point that they trail males in achievement by graduation time. However, differences in achievement have decreased. Moreover, males and females now enroll equally in some high school science courses. Also, males and females are represented equally in some college science majors such as biology. Yet, some areas such as physics remain unintegrated (AAUW, 1999). In fact, throughout the span of formal education, "biology is favored by girls and physics is favored by boys, and these patterns appear to persist through college and graduate school" (Farenga & Joyce, 1999, p. 56).
Although more women are enrolling in undergraduate science programs, women are still much underrepresented in graduate science programs (Erwin & Maurutto, 1998). Moreover, the farther students, especially girls, progress in high school science, the more they hate their subjects (Friedman, 1999). According to the National Science Foundation (1994), in science areas, women earn less than 30% of undergraduate degrees and less than 25% of graduate degrees. Also, women in science tend to gravitate to low paying disciplines (i.e., such as biology). Further, less than 18% of engineering degrees are awarded to women. In fact, less than 20% of doctorates in physical science and math are awarded to women (National Science Foundation, 1990). These inequities and the under-representation of women in science programs are generally attributable to three sets of factors: (a) ability and achievement gender differences, (b) psychological and societal issues, and (c) cultural and organizational factors (Erwin & Maurutto, 1998).
Society, science, and science education all marginalize women and foster gender stereotypes (Verna & Campbell, 1999). In essence, through socialization young male and female students assume science to be a male domain (Farenga & Joyce, 1999). This socialization de-emphasizes the possibility of math and science careers for girls (AAUW, 1992). Thus, science tends to filter women from the ranks of working scientists. "The workforce continues to function as though scientists have no significant familial responsibilities and often excludes those who either choose to give families a priority or must do so" (Brickhouse, 2001, p. 282).
Social stereotyping and social expectations become self-fulfilling prophecies through psychological manifestations. Essentially, these stereotypical expectations impact self-image and self-esteem. Negative expectations with respect to science participation belittle females and undermine self-concept (Erwin & Maurutto, 1998). In essence, as social experience shapes personality, females develop traits that hamper or conflict with science participation (Farenga & Joyce, 1999). In essence, "the problem of women in the sciences appears to still be rooted in how we socialize young females in their early education experiences" (Kennedy & Parks, 2000, p. 1). Moreover, only a limited amount of knowledge exists with respect to how women actually conceptualize science and science instruction and how women feel about science and science instruction.
Cultural and structural factors also impact the participation of females in science (Erwin & Maurutto, 1998). Of course, differential treatment by teachers can serve to marginalize females (Shepardson & Pizzini, 1992). Likewise, females place great importance on peer opinion and peer interaction. As a result, peer opinion can greatly impact the attitudes toward science held by females (Simpson & Oliver, 1990). Unfortunately, this impact is generally negative since females tend to hold and develop increasingly negative attitudes toward science (Adams, 1996). An additional cultural influence lies within familial or parental influence (Keeves, 1975). This influence occurs through the communication of parental expectations (Campbell & Mandel, 1990).
According to Myers and Fouts (1992), attitudes are just as important as actual achievement as desirable outcomes of educational processes. Moreover, attitudes cannot be ignored in student-related educational research (Shrigley, Koballa & Simpson, 1988). However, attitude research in science education is controversial (Haladyna & Shaughnessy, 1982; Koballa, 1988). In fact, the actual construct known as attitude is very poorly defined (Koballa, 1988). Also, while girls possess more negative attitudes toward science than boys do (Weinburgh, 1995), the understanding of impact of these attitudes on achievement remains elusive (AAUW, 1992).
Attitudes, perceptions, and achievement are related in a complex manner (Eichinger, 1992). Specifically, perceptions of science are affected by a variety of personal factors (i.e., gender, ethnicity, situational factors) (Ledbetter, 1993). These personal perceptions or constructions of science, from a constructivist point of view, should be considered in relation to educational processes (Ebenezer & Zoller, 1993; Ledbetter, 1993).
IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
While attitudes, achievement levels, and the other components of "the science education experience" have been quantitatively examined, very little qualitative analysis exists to describe the educational experience of females in American high school classrooms from the perspective of the student. A description of this phenomenon as constructed through the experiences of female students represents a worthy pursuit. Science education research can benefit from qualitative approaches that attempt to provide a voice for marginalized individuals and all students (Brickhouse et al., 2000). Researchers in education should consider the social and cultural structures of schools in order to facilitate understanding of how student actually perceive their experiences. Through this process, enlightenment can serve as a means to improvement, success, and understanding (Rop, 1999). According to Brickhouse et al. (2000):
To understand learning in science, we need to know much more than whether students have learned the proper explanation for how plants make their food or why there are seasons. We need to know how students are engaging in science and how this is related to who they think they are (what communities of practice they participate in), e.g., a good student, a basketball player, a gossip, and who they want to be (what communities of practice they aspire to), e.g., a teacher, a mother, a gemologist, an obstetrician. (p. 443)
Many factors, including gender, affect identity formation and perception of identity. From a constructivist point of view, personal qualities impact the construction or development of self-identity. In order to achieve success, educators must recognize individual traits and orientations in order to facilitate learning and development. The qualitative construction of these personal profiles can facilitate processes and general understanding. Moreover, these qualitative analyses can illuminate social, political, and cultural trends (Brickhouse et al., 2000).
Of course, personal identity represents a fluid, dynamic construct. Moreover, individuals belong to or are affected by many different communities. Also, for individuals, membership in communities varies as individuals grow, develop, and change (Brickhouse et al., 2000). Thus, qualitative assessment and understanding of the multi-faceted social identity of the person is a key process. "We need to understand how students are constructed and construct themselves as girls, as members of a particular racial or ethnic group, as a Œgood' girl, as an athlete, and how these identities overlap in important ways with students' views of scientific identities" (Brickhouse et al., 2000, p. 444).
From an action research perspective, the impact of the present study upon practice should be significant. Most current science education practices unintentionally marginalize females (Sadker & Sadker, 1994). Moreover, many changes are made on the basis of researchers' perceptions of the assumed perceptions of the cognition of females. In reality, these changes should be based on actual accounts, verbalizations, and self-perceptions of events and phenomena. Understanding the essence of the science education experience as reported by females should help to refine and define the nature of effective instructional practices (Brickhouse et al., 2000). Change or refinement of practice should, in turn, reduce the marginalization of females and enhance the experiences of all students (McArthur, 1997). These changes should positively impact the science education experience. Hopefully, the result will be a marshalling of support for the current paradigm of educational equity over equality (AAUW, 1999). In essence, all students should benefit from the current research through the enlightenment of the nature of practices which will produce equal opportunities (i.e., but not necessarily identical opportunities) for males and females.
With respect to policy, changes will be more difficult to achieve. In this case, policy refers to the nature of science. As noted in the literature, the nature and policy of science are inherently masculine (Brickhouse, et al., 2000). Thus, women who choose to participate in certain disciplines are systematically marginalized. However, changing the essence of science is a long-term, slow process. Moreover, women continue to be socialized with the idea that science is a masculine domain (Farenga & Joyce, 1999). Secondly, the current research should contribute to the paradigm shift in gender and science education research from the deficit model to the equity education model. Specifically, the equitable education paradigm (i.e., meeting the needs of all students through diverse means and methods) should be refined during the current research process. Conversely, this focus implies the abandonment of models that focus upon nonexistent deficits in female students.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
For the most part, while attitudes, achievement levels, and the other components of "the science education experience," have been quantitatively examined, very little qualitative analysis exists to describe the educational experience of females in American high school classrooms from the perspective of the student. The present study was an attempt to describe this phenomenon as constructed through the experiences of female students. Very simply, the purpose of this project was to describe the essential elements of the current science education experience as constructed by female physics and advanced chemistry students at a Southeast Texas High School. The construct of science education experience for females included perceived (a) affective attitudes, (b) achievement and success, (c) ability, (d) cultural factors, (e) social-psychological factors, (f) interpersonal factors, and (g) instructional/teacher factors.

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