104,770 research outputs found
Bourdieu, networks, and movements: Using the concepts of habitus, field and capital to understand a network analysis of gender differences in undergraduate physics
Current trends suggest that significant gender disparities exist within
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education at
university, with female students being underrepresented in physics, but more
equally represented in life sciences (e.g., biology, medicine). To understand
these trends, it is important to consider the context in which students make
decisions about which university courses to enrol in. The current study seeks
to investigate gender differences in STEM through a unique approach that
combines network analysis of student enrolment data with an interpretive lens
based on the sociological theory of Pierre Bourdieu. We generate a network of
courses taken by around 9000 undergraduate physics students (from 2009 to 2014)
to quantify Bourdieu's concept of field. We explore the properties of this
network to investigate gender differences in transverse movements (between
different academic fields) and vertical movements (changes in students'
achievement rankings within a field). Our findings indicate that female
students are more likely to make transverse movements into life science fields.
We also find that university physics does a poor job in attracting high
achieving students, and especially high achieving female students. Of the
students who do choose to study physics, low achieving female students are less
likely to continue than their male counterparts. The results and implications
are discussed in the context of Bourdieu's theory, and previous research. We
argue that in order to remove constraints on female student's study choices,
the field of physics needs to provide a culture in which all students feel like
they belong.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl
Female Under-Representation in Computing Education and Industry - A Survey of Issues and Interventions
This survey paper examines the issue of female under-representation in computing education and industry, which has been shown from empirical studies to be a problem for over two decades. While various measures and intervention strategies have been implemented to increase the interest of girls in computing education and industry, the level of success has been discouraging.
The primary contribution of this paper is to provide an analysis of the extensive research work in this area. It outlines the progressive decline in female representation in computing education. It also presents the key arguments that attempt to explain the decline and intervention strategies. We conclude that there is a need to further explore strategies that will encourage young female learners to interact more with computer educational games
The Longitudinal Effects of STEM Identity and Gender on Flourishing and Achievement in College Physics
Background. Drawing on social identity theory and positive psychology, this study investigated womenâs responses to the social environment of physics classrooms. It also investigated STEM identity and gender disparities on academic achievement and flourishing in an undergraduate introductory physics course for STEM majors. 160 undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory physics course were administered a baseline survey with self-report measures on course belonging, physics identification, flourishing, and demographics at the beginning of the course and a post-survey at the end of the academic term. Students also completed force concept inventories and physics course grades were obtained from the registrar.
Results. Women reported less course belonging and less physics identification than men. Physics identification and grades evidenced a longitudinal bidirectional relationship for all students (regardless of gender) such that when controlling for baseline physics knowledge: (a) students with higher physics identification were more likely to earn higher grades; and (b) students with higher grades evidenced more physics identification at the end of the term. Men scored higher on the force concept inventory than women, although no gender disparities emerged for course grades. For women, higher physics (versus lower) identification was associated with more positive changes in flourishing over the course of the term. High-identifying men showed the opposite pattern: negative change in flourishing was more strongly associated with high identifiers than low identifiers.
Conclusions. Overall, this study underlines gender disparities in physics both in terms of belonging and physics knowledge. It suggests that strong STEM identity may be associated with academic performance and flourishing in undergraduate physics courses at the end of the term, particularly for women. A number of avenues for future research are discussed
Enhancing Practice and Achievement in Introductory Programming With a Robot Olympics
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Do Gender Differences in Perceived Prototypical Computer Scientists and Engineers Contribute to Gender Gaps in Computer Science and Engineering?
Women are vastly underrepresented in the fields of computer science and engineering (CS&E). We examined whether women might view the intellectual characteristics of prototypical individuals in CS&E in more stereotype-consistent ways than men might and, consequently, show less interest in CS&E. We asked 269 U.S. college students (187, 69.5% women) to describe the prototypical computer scientist (Study 1) or engineer (Study 2) through open-ended descriptions as well as through a set of trait ratings. Participants also rated themselves on the same set of traits and rated their similarity to the prototype. Finally, participants in both studies were asked to describe their likelihood of pursuing future college courses and careers in computer science (Study 1) or engineering (Study 2). Across both studies, we found that women offered more stereotype-consistent ratings than did men of the intellectual characteristics of prototypes in CS (Study 1) and engineering (Study 2). Women also perceived themselves as less similar to the prototype than men did. Further, the observed gender differences in prototype perceptions mediated the tendency for women to report lower interest in CS&E fields relative to men. Our work highlights the importance of prototype perceptions for understanding the gender gap in CS&E and suggests avenues for interventions that may increase womenâs representation in these vital fields
Links between the personalities, styles and performance in computer programming
There are repetitive patterns in strategies of manipulating source code. For
example, modifying source code before acquiring knowledge of how a code works
is a depth-first style and reading and understanding before modifying source
code is a breadth-first style. To the extent we know there is no study on the
influence of personality on them. The objective of this study is to understand
the influence of personality on programming styles. We did a correlational
study with 65 programmers at the University of Stuttgart. Academic achievement,
programming experience, attitude towards programming and five personality
factors were measured via self-assessed survey. The programming styles were
asked in the survey or mined from the software repositories. Performance in
programming was composed of bug-proneness of programmers which was mined from
software repositories, the grades they got in a software project course and
their estimate of their own programming ability. We did statistical analysis
and found that Openness to Experience has a positive association with
breadth-first style and Conscientiousness has a positive association with
depth-first style. We also found that in addition to having more programming
experience and better academic achievement, the styles of working depth-first
and saving coarse-grained revisions improve performance in programming.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figure
Gender differences in expectancy of academic success in mathematics
Includes bibliographical references
Predictors of Adolescentsâ Interest in Stem Majors and Careers
Advanced Research Winner 2019:
The United States currently faces a shortage of qualified workers in fields related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The first critical step in preventing the labor shortage in STEM is understanding the factors that guide adolescents toward STEM pursuits. Drawing on Ecclesâ expectancy-value theory (EVT), the current study aims to identify factors that are relevant to adolescentsâ interest in STEM majors and careers. Data were collected from 629 adolescents (Mage = 16.09). Participants attended a high school in northern California and predominantly identified as Asian American (82% of the sample). Preliminary analyses revealed that adolescent boys had higher STEM self-expectancies than did adolescent girls, whereas there was no gender difference in STEM values. Consistent with expectations, multiple regression demonstrated that STEM self-expectancies and values accounted for a significant amount of variance in participantsâ interest in STEM majors and careers. STEM value was an especially strong predictor; adolescents tended to be most interested in STEM pursuits when they were also high in STEM value. Moderation analyses showed that the association between STEM value and interest in STEM majors and careers was stronger for girls than for boys. As a whole, this studyâs findings suggest that valuing and enjoying STEM pursuits during high school could be an important antecedent of pursuing a STEM major and a STEM career later in life
Computer Programming Effects in Elementary: Perceptions and Career Aspirations in STEM
The development of elementary-aged studentsâ STEM and computer science (CS) literacy is critical in this evolving technological landscape, thus, promoting success for college, career, and STEM/CS professional paths. Research has suggested that elementary- aged students need developmentally appropriate STEM integrated opportunities in the classroom; however, little is known about the potential impact of CS programming and how these opportunities engender positive perceptions, foster confidence, and promote perseverance to nurture studentsâ early career aspirations related to STEM/CS. The main purpose of this mixed-method study was to examine elementary-aged studentsâ (N = 132) perceptions of STEM, career choices, and effects from pre- to post-test intervention of CS lessons (N = 183) over a three-month period. Findings included positive and significant changes from studentsâ pre- to post-tests as well as augmented themes from 52 student interviews to represent increased enjoyment of CS lessons, early exposure, and its benefits for learning to future careers
Gender issues in computerâsupported learning: What we can learn from the gender; science and technology literature
This paper is a response to the article, âGender issues in computerâsupported learningâ, in AltâJ 10 (1). I argue that the studies presented in the original paper could be enhanced by a more rigorous approach to gender that avoids universalizing identity, recognizes gender as a construction and which builds on previous research from gender, science and technology studies
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