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 women’s 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

Male access and success in higher education

The gendered landscape of higher education (hereafter HE) has changed significantly over the past two decades. As has long been the case, men are more likely to secure graduatelevel employment after their degree, although the advantage over women in this respect is now marginal. Men still form the majority of faculty and HE managers. Since the early 1990s, however, women are now more likely to start an undergraduate course than men, to successfully complete it and to achieve a ‘good degree’. Although the gender gap is less significant beyond undergraduate study, women are also more likely to undertake post-graduate courses. The speed and scale of the change in undergraduate participation patterns makes it a social phenomenon meriting further attention

Gender and participation in mathematics and further mathematics A-levels: a literature review for the Further Mathematics Support Programme

In preparing this report I have considered evidence from over 60 documents that relate to raising girls’ participation in mathematics. These include published research papers and reports compiled by expert bodies that present an evidence base. Although research specifically addressing Further Mathematics A-level is rare, the last ten years have seen considerable efforts to synthesise and update knowledge from different research perspectives about the relationship between gender and participation. For this reason, the review process started with papers from 2008 onwards

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

Women in higher education leadership in South Asia: rejection, refusal, reluctance, revisioning

This research, linked to the South Asia Global Education Dialogue series, looks at the role of women in South Asia in respect to higher education and leadership. The research sought out existing knowledge and baseline data from the literature, policies, change interventions, available statistics and interviews across six countries in South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka). From this research, recommendations about what specific future actions and interventions for change could be implemented in South Asia have been made

Introduction to \u3ci\u3eDoctoral Education and the Faculty of the Future\u3c/i\u3e

[Excerpt] Concern has been expressed, however, that the growing enrollment of foreign students in American PhD programs crowds out potential American citizen PhD holders and discourages them from pursuing PhD study. On the other hand, the aftermath of 9/11, the growth of research infrastructure and research support in other nations, and the growth of other nations\u27 higher education systems all cast doubt on the ability of the United States to continue to rely on foreign PhD holders to meet our nation\u27s need for scientific researchers and to fill future faculty positions. Given all of these issues, in October 2006 the Cornell Higher Education Research Institute brought together a group of researchers from a wide number of science and social science fields, academic administrators, and policymakers for the conference Doctoral Education and the Faculty of the Future. The sessions at the conference focused on efforts to increase and improve the supply of future faculty, and covered topics ranging from increasing undergraduate interest in doctoral study to improving the doctoral experience and the representation of underrepresented groups in doctoral education. The chapters in this book are revisions of the papers presented at that conference

Women in Community Colleges: Access to Success

This report explores an underappreciated part of our higher education system. The report looks at the role of community colleges in women's education, including challenges women face in completing a certificate or degree, or in transferring to a four-year institution. The particular concerns and needs of student mothers and barriers women face in pursuing STEM and nontraditional fields are examined in detail. The report includes recommendations that will strengthen community colleges for all students

The challenges and issues of undergraduate student retention and attainment in UK veterinary medical education

Student retention and attainment has recently been identified as a key area for development in veterinary medical education enquiry. Woodfield's research on retention and attainment across the UK disciplines has yielded some unique information about the challenges and issues of students who study veterinary medicine and related subjects. The present literature review aims to expand on Woodfield's findings and explain important issues about retention and attainment across veterinary medicine. Overall, the subject of retention and attainment in undergraduate veterinary medical education needs a great deal more empirical attention, such as data on the retention and attainment of mature and widening access students, and the effects of students being placed at remote locations during their studies. Our findings also cover some unsurprising issues: the dominance of women in a profession that is principally lead by men, the underrepresentation of black and minority ethnic (BME) students in veterinary medicine, and the effects of content overload in the veterinary medical curriculum. Based on data gathered by Woodfield and our investigation of the scholarly and gray literatures, we offer an overview of gaps in current knowledge and recommendations for further research