Gender Issues in Education for Science and Technology: Current Situation and Prospects for Change

Girls and women remain substantially under-represented in mathematics, science, and technology in school and in the workplace. Although this problem is recognized, its complexity is widely underestimated and causes are not well understood. We review prevailing explanations, which tend to concentrate either on possible gender differentials in qualities such as self-confidence, or on school practices that allow boys to dominate classroom interaction and monopolize such technology as computers. We also identify disadvantageous features of higher education and the workplace. We then consider what is known about educational innovation, especially in the area of gender equity, and describe some interventions concerned with gender and science and technology education. Finally, we raise unresolved questions and issues about gender equity efforts in science and technology education and suggest directions for research. Les filles et les femmes sont nettement sous-représentés en mathématiques, en science et en technologie à l’école et sur le marché du travail. Bien que ce problème soit reconnu, sa complexité est largement sous-estimée et ses causes ne sont pas bien comprises. Les auteurs passent en revue les explications qui ont présentement cours, lesquelles tendent à mettre en relief soit les différences qui existeraient entre les sexes pour ce qui est, par exemple, de la confiance en soi, soit les pratiques scolaires qui permettent aux garçons de dominer l’interaction en classe et de monopoliser la technologie, comme les ordina- teurs. Les auteurs identifient également les caractéristiques désavantageuses de l’éducation supérieure et des milieux de travail. Ils se penchent ensuite sur les connaissances actuelles au sujet des innovations en éducation, particulièrement dans le domaine de l’égalité entre les sexes, et décrivent quelques interventions tenant compte du sexe dans l’enseignement des sciences et de la technologie. Ils terminent en soulevant quelques questions non ré- glées au sujet des efforts à faire en matière d’égalité des sexes dans les cours de science et de technologie et proposent des orientations pour la recherche.

Reading Fiction Predicts People's Empathy

Reading fiction, in and of itself, predicts people’s empathy. People who read fiction tend to feel that they have more social support than those who read non- fiction.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Ask the experts: what is emotional intelligence and can it be taught?

Video series produced by the Education Commons, OISE/UTThe concept (EI) grows out of research since the 1960s exploring how people recognize emotions in themselves and in others, how they control emotions, and how mood affects thinking. More recent research has explored how these abilities can be transformed into skills, or how emotional tasks can be taught

Such stuff as dreams : the psychology of fiction

Such Stuff as Dreams: The Psychology of Fiction explores how fiction works in the brains and imagination of both readers and writers. Demonstrates how reading fiction can contribute to a greater understanding of, and the ability to change, ourselves Informed by the latest psychological research which focuses on, for example, how identification with fictional characters occurs, and how literature can improve social abilities Explores traditional aspects of fiction, including character, plot, setting, and theme, as well as a number of classic techniques, such as metaphor, metonymy, defamiliarization, and cues Includes extensive end-notes, which ground the work in psychological studies Features excerpts from fiction which are discussed throughout the text, including works by William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Kate Chopin, Anton Chekhov, James Baldwin, and other