Encouraging Girls into Science and Technology with Feminine Role Model: Does This Work?

This study examines the effect of a program that aimed to encourage girls to choose a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career in Israel. The program involved school visits to a high-tech company and meeting with role model female scientists. Sixty ninth-grade female students from a Jewish modern-orthodox single-sex secondary school in the same city as the company participated in the study. The control group contained 30 girls from the same classes who did not participate in the program. Data were collected through pre-post questionnaires, observations, and focus group interviews. It was analyzed for three main themes: perceptions of scientists and engineers, capability of dealing with STEM, and future career choice. Findings indicated respect toward the women scientists as being smart and creative, but significant negative change on the perceptions of women scientists/engineers, the capability of dealing with STEM, and the STEM career choices. Possible causes for these results are discussed, as well as implications for education.     

Is Economic Status Really Important for a Woman Important for a Woman

<正>Simone de Beauvoir said,"A woman is not born but made."Then,what makes women?Culture?Parental teaching?Social environments?...When women are born,they are told they are a girl and brought up in the way that girls grow up.Gradually,an invisible and powerful voice is rooted in their mind,"I’m a girl and that I’ll be a woman or housewife."     

Examining a program designed to improve supervisory knowledge and practices of cooperating teachers

This article reports on how a program based on educative supervision supported the supervisory knowledge and practices of three cooperating teachers. The program was planned as a kind of practicum: the cooperating teachers participated in the program while working with a student teacher. The program included activities where the cooperating teachers reflected on their supervisory beliefs and practices in collaboration with each other. The case study method was used, where the case was the designed program. Data analysis indicated some changes in the supervision styles of the participating cooperating teachers toward educative supervision. First, the percent of speech given by the student teachers in the post-lesson conferences increased after the discussion of educative supervision in the program. Secondly, the amount and depth of talks on mathematics pedagogy increased. Thirdly, the cooperating teachers moved away from conveying their feedback directly to the student teachers; they started asking more open-ended questions to have the student teachers reflect on their teaching.     

Education for Domesticity? A nineteenth‐century perspective on girls' schooling and education

This paper considers the stated purposes and practices of girls' elementary (working‐class) schooling in the nineteenth century critically to consider the role of schooling in the reproduction of gender roles. It argues that, rather than the reproduction of ‘traditional’ models of gender, the stated aim of provided schooling in this period was the cultural transformation of working‐class womanhood in ways consistent with the social and cultural ideals of industrial society. In practice, however, tensions and disjunctions between the aims and practices of schooling meant that the reproduction of gender roles via formal education was flawed, contested and of relatively little significance in its direct influence on the lives of women. The discussion is set in the context of changes in the lives and work of adult women in the period and, drawing on evidence of the different experiences of girls and women in two contrasting regions, argues that the operation of gender ideologies embedded in family, community and work place organisation was much more significant than schooling in the educative influence exerted on female choices and behaviour. This analysis is applied to the education and schooling of girls today, to argue, firstly, that the model of gender ‘equality’ supposedly implicit within the National Curriculum is in reality a reversion to ‘traditional’ definitions of gender roles and secondly, to argue that changes in the education of boys are of crucial importance in transforming the educative influence of contemporary society from androcentricity to a genuine appreciation of equality between the sexes.     

Bright and Beautiful: High achieving girls,ambivalent femininities,and the feminization of success in the primary school

This paper refocuses attention on and problematizes girls’ experiences of school achievement and the construction of schoolgirl femininities. In particular, it centres on the relatively neglected experiences and identity work of high achieving primary school girls. Drawing upon ethnographic data (observations, interviews, and pupil diaries) from a broader study of girls’ and boys’ perceptions and experiences of schoolwork and achievement from two contrasting primary schools in a city in South Wales (UK), the paper will explore the gendered subjectivities of high achieving girls from diverse social and cultural backgrounds. Three narrative case studies are re-presented and analysed to explore the feminization of success and thus the tensions and contradictions as girls negotiate the pushes and pulls to be both “bright” (i.e. succeeding academically) and “beautiful” (succeeding in “doing girl”). Of key interest are the possibilities, costs, and consequences of girls producing ambivalent femininities and the rearticulation and transgression of normative ways of “doing clever” and “doing girl” in 21st century primary schools.     

Letting girls speak out about science

The purpose of this study was to try to determine what influences girls to choose science. Forty girls were interviewed in Grades 2, 5, 8, 11 using a semistructured protocol. The interview focused on feelings about science, science careers, peer and parental support, and how science is taught. To determine whether their responses were based on gender, each girl was asked to respond to questions as if she were a boy. The girls were highly self-confident and positive about science. All of the girls took a strong equity position and asserted that women can and should do science. The girls liked learning science in an interactive social context rather than participating in activities that isolated them such as independent reading, writing, or note taking. Those who chose science careers were drawn to them because of strong affective experiences with a loved one and a desire to help. The interviews were analyzed through the framework of women's affective and psychological needs.     

Girls and computer science: experiences,perceptions, and career aspirations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine ways to promote computer science (CS) among girls by exploring young women’s experiences and perceptions of CS as well as investigating factors affecting their career aspirations. American girls aged 10–16 participated in focus group interviews as well as pre-, post-, and follow-up surveys while attending a CS camp. The analysis of data revealed that although the participants were generally positive about the CS field, they had very limited knowledge of and experience with CS, leading to little aspiration to become computer scientists. The findings also indicated that girls’ affinity for and confidence in CS were critical factors affecting their motivation for pursuing a CS-related career. The study demonstrated that participation in the CS camp motivated a small number of participants to be interested in majoring in CS, but the activity time was too short to make a significant impact. Based on the findings, we suggest that providing CS programming experiences in K-12 classrooms is important in order to boost girls’ confidence and interest in CS.     

‘Oh no,nothing, we didn’t learn anything’: sex education and the preparation of girls for motherhood,c.1930–1970

This article investigates how girls were educated about sex, pregnancy and childbirth during the years 1930 to 1970. Based on the results of 92 oral‐history interviews with Oxfordshire women, it explores how national debates surrounding sex education influenced what girls in Oxfordshire were taught. In addition, it examines how successful the women themselves thought this education had been in equipping them for maternity and whether they believed women could indeed be educated for motherhood.     

It happens all the time,you just don't take any notice

This article discusses research undertaken with a group of ten adolescent school girls about their understandings and perceptions of sexual harassment. The research took place 2 years after the Department of Education, Queensland, had developed and disseminated its Sexual Harassment Policy and Grievance Procedures (1994). In a series of interviews, the research participants revealed their understandings of sexual harassment and the factors they considered when making the decision to report sexual harassment and/or to utilize existing grievance procedures. The research indicates that the elimination of sexual harassment must take into account the complexities and ambiguities at work in the school lives of adolescent girls. At present it would appear that schools are driven by the legal imperative to implement policy, and have yet to focus on the educative responsibility attending the policy. Schools’ educative responsibility for the effective implementation of sexual harassment policy requires that students have opportunities to examine in the formal curriculum a range of discourses that expose the contradictory ways in which gender, power, sexuality and desire are constructed in education and schooling. The findings of this research therefore have significant implications for school communities, curriculum developers and policy makers     

Factors Underlying Persistent Gendered Option Choices in School Science and Technology in Scotland

The past 15 years have seen a persistent underrepresentation of girls in school science and technology subjects. The article is in three parts. The first part surveys the persistence of girls' opting out of science and technology in their school option choices and reviews from a wide range of literature the influences which affect girls' choices. These influences are: early socialisation, primary teachers as change agents, option choice processes, guidance and careers advice, teachers and teaching, and work experience. The second part presents a meta-analysis of initiatives to encourage girls and women into science, engineering and technology (SET) courses and careers, drawing upon a survey undertaken as part of a Scottish initiative to encourage women students and staff to enter courses in SET in higher education and to progress in careers there. The analysis is then used to illuminate various school initiatives and to estimate the likelihood of their success in addressing the underlying influences on girls' choices away from science and technology.     

Left-behind children: teachers’ perceptions of family-school relations in rural China

Large-scale rural-urban migration in China has left rural schools with large proportions of left-behind children whose parents are away working in the city. This has a huge impact on family-school relations and poses a burden on teachers. This study draws on 42 interviews with teachers working in two rural schools. This article argues that teachers’ negative narratives about antagonistic family-school relations are driven by the gaps between their culturally embedded traditional models of family-school relations and the reality, with implications for the expanded role of schools and that of grandparents as caregivers. This article further discusses the implications of these findings for rural schools and draws heavily on Western models of family-school relations in a comparative perspective.     

Plotting Careers in Aged Care: Perspectives of Medical,Nursing, Allied Health Students and New Graduates

The research reported in this article explored the impact of the undergraduate placement experience on medical, nursing, and allied health students' perceptions of careers in aged care. Data were collected from undergraduate students (48) and graduates (26) via individual (46) and group (7) interviews; data were thematically analyzed. Participants' placement experiences prompted them to characterize aged care simultaneously as “dirty work” and “rewarding work”. Participants perceived that working full-time as a newly-graduated health professional with the aged or in aged care settings would be an unattractive career. Instead, participants considered working in aged care either as a “mid career” or “blended career” option.     

Characteristics of a clinical sample of sexually abused children: how boy and girl victims differ

The article describes a clinical sample of 87 boy victims of child sexual abuse and compares them to 226 girl victims. Boys were on average 6.3 years of age at onset of the sexual abuse; girls were 5.5 years. Boys were more likely to be victimized by someone outside the family than girls, but about two-thirds of the boys were abused by someone within the family. Male victims were more often abused by someone who sexually abused other children than were female victims. The majority of perpetrators were men; however girls were more likely than boys to be abused by men, and boys by both men and women. Only a small percentage of the offenders were women acting alone, but boys were more likely to be abused by women than girls. In addition, data on the role relationship between victim and offender and how these relationships differ for boy and girl victims are presented.     

Sleepless in academia

The conditions under which women academics work provide the impetus for this article. Current trends in feminist and other writing are moving us away from dwelling on the disadvantages women experience in the academy. Yet the findings from the two Canadian studies reported here suggest that issues around children and career, anxieties about evaluation, and fatigue and stress shape the daily lives of women academics. The women do find ways and means of coping and resisting, ­sometimes collectively, although one of the major responses—working harder and sleeping less—might be considered somewhat short of empowering. We also look at what the prospects are for changes in university policies and practices.     

一国两城:京港80后青年专业人士的境遇

"一国两制"承诺香港的政治体制50年不变,这50年是香港与北京不同政体的融合,也贯穿了80后一代人生命中最辉煌的时段。运用质性和量化相结合的研究方法,研究发现京港两地80后青年专业人士在工作、生活领域都面临着缺乏向上流动的机会,常常选择辛勤工作的方式来克服"地位恐慌"。然而,京港两地专业人士对于是否给彼此带来竞争和威胁这一问题持不同观点,由于两地人才政策等因素,跨境工作人士难以融入当地生活。这些不同境遇的根源在于两地历史文化、政治制度和社会结构之间的差异。因此,京港双方应借助经济发展的平台,促进文化政治的交流和融合,以经济依存带动文化认同和身份认同。     

How gender norms are reinforced through violence against adolescent girls in two conflict-affected populations

Violence against women and girls is a global concern, and particularly salient in humanitarian settings. Successful efforts to prevent gender-based violence in humanitarian settings must address a wide range of issues, from discriminatory laws to explicit community support for violence, and yet, at the core of these efforts is reducing oppressive gender and social norms. This study examined local attitudes towards and social norms around responding to physical and sexual abuse of girls through interviews conducted with adolescent girls (n = 66) and with caregivers (n = 58) among two conflict-affected populations: villages in South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudanese and South Sudanese refugees in Ethiopian camps. The findings suggest how communities use violence as a tool to enforce the importance of girls practicing community-defined “good” adolescent girl behavior, and have implications for gender-based violence programming among other conflict-affected populations.     

Curricular Influences on Female Afterschool Facilitators’ Computer Science Interests and Career Choices

Underrepresented populations such as women, African-Americans, and Latinos/as often come to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers by less traditional paths than White and Asian males. To better understand how and why women might shift toward STEM, particularly computer science, careers, we investigated the education and career direction of afterschool facilitators, primarily women of color in their twenties and thirties, who taught Build IT, an afterschool computer science curriculum for middle school girls. Many of these women indicated that implementing Build IT had influenced their own interest in technology and computer science and in some cases had resulted in their intent to pursue technology and computer science education. We wanted to explore the role that teaching Build IT may have played in activating or reactivating interest in careers in computer science and to see whether in the years following implementation of Build IT, these women pursued STEM education and/or careers. We reached nine facilitators who implemented the program in 2011–12 or shortly after. Many indicated that while facilitating Build IT, they learned along with the participants, increasing their interest in and confidence with technology and computer science. Seven of the nine participants pursued further STEM or computer science learning or modified their career paths to include more of a STEM or computer science focus. Through interviews, we explored what aspects of Build IT influenced these facilitators’ interest and confidence in STEM and when relevant their pursuit of technology and computer science education and careers.     

The influence of family socialisation on the success of girls from poor urban communities in Brazil at school

The principle focus of this article is to understand the influence of socialisation in the family on the success of girls at school. Eight low-income families with children of both sexes in the city of São Paulo, Brazil were studied through interviews and observation methods. It was found that socialisation in the family favoured in girls, and not in boys, the development of behaviours that schools desire, such as discipline. It also led each sex to attribute a different meaning to school attendance, since girls had more responsibilities and fewer opportunities for socialising. The same restrictions prompted girls to aspire to further their education and have higher skilled occupations.     

Facilitated group mentoring develops key career competencies for university women: a case study

This article examines the effectiveness of a facilitated group mentoring program for university women. Content analysis across existing sources of data (questionnaires, a focus group, and interviews), collected over the five years of the program’s operation (1999–2003), suggested the program helped women to develop three ways of knowing—‘knowing why’, ‘knowing how’, and ‘knowing whom’—which contribute to enhanced career outcomes. Drawing on the experiences of the women in the case study program at the University of Canberra, and the career competencies literature, the article provides a framework for exploring the career outcomes of mentoring programs for both women and men.