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Research Dossier: Girls in STEM

Introduction

It is no surprise that there is a lack of female representation in science, technology,

engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The lack of representation begins in our
education system, where girls experience gender inequality in their math and science
courses as soon as they enter school (Cimpian 2018). As a girl progresses in her
education, gender inequality becomes more apparent and takes a bigger toll on her
outlook on STEM. As a female, I have experienced the impact that gender roles have on
education; and as a first-year college student and a civil engineering major, I am
experiencing doubt in my ability to become a successful engineer. Gender roles have a
big impact on how girls perceive their STEM education and the motivation they have to
persist in it, or not to persist in it, till college. Motivational factors for persistence in
STEM vary based on a student’s gender because males tend to identify more with the
STEM stereotype (Sahin 2017). Therefore, girls must have different motivating factors
than boys if they do not identify as much with being in STEM.

Through my research, I am looking for what motivates girls to persist in their STEM
education; however, I was not always sure of this topic. From the beginning of this
project, I knew that I wanted to do research on STEM education, but I had trouble
narrowing the topic down to something that was more attainable to research and write
about. Doing my initial research, I used the keywords “STEM education” and “self-
efficacy” and picked out articles I liked from the results. There was a common theme in
the articles I selected, which is how I arrived at my research question that relates
motivational factors to girls’ persistence in STEM education.

My research includes how primary education plays a role in secondary and postsecondary
education. My research also looks at high school experiences and how they correlate to
decided college majors. The annotated bibliography of this dossier gives the citation of
all my references and shows how they are all interconnected. While they do not all
explicitly support my research question, they can all be used to back up the evidence
from another source. I have gathered nine academic sources and two internet sources to
help me answer my research question. The nine academic sources come from credible
authors who are professors in the fields of educational research and psychology, who
have done extensive research on how gender plays a role in STEM education. The
internet sources come from Brookings Press and FIRST. Brookings Press helps make
scholarly research more accessible by having scholars publish it with them and FIRST is
a global robotics community that supports young people in STEM. Along with my
secondary sources, I will be holding a focus group with college females and asking them
about their motivation in school. I will be relating what they report to their major and
their educational background.

Nearly all of my sources provide the position that my research takes and context to the
research topic. Joseph Cimpian’ s article provides a good introduction to the issue around
STEM education. Examples of sources that give the position of my argument are from
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Campbell Leaper, Linda Sax, and Sarah Banchefsky. I will be able to back up my
position with citing these sources, then back up those sources on position by citing
sources that provide context. Domonique Bulls, Erin Peters-Burton, and Karen Tao are
just a few of the authors who I will be citing providing context. They provide by
performing studies that involve motivational factors in STEM but are not directly aimed
at that.

Research Proposal

Research Question

What are the key motivational factors that affect a girl’s persistence in her STEM
education?

Field Research / Internet / Library

Field Research: I will be holding a focus group with men and women who are
also in STEM majors at UCF. My goals of the focus group are to be able to get a
good understanding of the students’ past education experience and their attitudes
toward STEM. I will ask about the classes they took prior to college, about their
attitude toward STEM prior to college, about their confidence levels in their field
of study, what drew them to the major, what keeps them in the major, and what
their major is. I hope to find a trend in this data and be able to relate it to
motivational factors.

Internet: I will be citing two internet sources; one that is from a press company
that provides free access to scholarly articles and the other from a website of a
global youth robotic organization.

Library: I have nine scholarly articles found in the article search of the UCF
Libraries homepage. These articles are written by experts who have extensively
researched STEM education.

Keywords

STEM education
Gender Differences
Persistence
Ability Belonging
Social Belonging
Confidence
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Timetable

Annotated Bibliography
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Banchefsky, Sarah, et al. “The Role of Social and Ability Belonging in Men’s and
Women’s PSTEM Persistence.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 10, 2019,
doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02386.

Abstract: “The benefits of belonging for academic performance and persistence have
been examined primarily in terms of subjective perceptions of social belonging, but
feeling ability belonging, or fit with one’s peers intellectually, is likely also important for
academic success. This may particularly be the case in male-dominated fields, where
inherent genius and natural talent are viewed as prerequisites for success. We tested the
hypothesis that social and ability belonging each explain intentions to persist in physical
science, technology, engineering, and math (pSTEM). We further explore whether
women experience lower social and ability belonging than men on average in pSTEM
and whether belonging more strongly relates to intentions to persist for women. At three
time points throughout a semester, we assessed undergraduate pSTEM majors enrolled in
a foundational calculus or physics course. Women reported lower pSTEM ability
belonging and self-efficacy than men but higher identification with pSTEM. End-of-
semester social belonging, ability belonging, and identification predicted intentions to
persist in pSTEM, with a stronger relationship between social belonging and intentions to
persist in pSTEM for women than men. These findings held after controlling for prior
and current academic performance, as well as two conventional psychological predictors
of academic success.”

Author: Banchefsky has a PhD in Psychology and currently works at the Office of Data
Analytics at University of Colorado Boulder. Lewis is a Senior Researcher at NWEA in
Portland. Ito is also at CU Boulder and is in the Department of Psychology and
Neuroscience.

BEAM: This study explores social and ability belonging in physical science, technology,
engineering, and math (pSTEM) relative to other students. Specifically, how does
belonging in girls compare to the belonging of boys? Studying these factors in this
relative way will provide a comparison and a baseline for how your perceived belonging
affects your success in pSTEM.

Bulls, Domonique. “STEM Gender Equity: Supporting Girls in STEM Without

Diminishing Boys.” FIRST, Apple, Arconic Foundation, Qualcomm Incorporated,
Bosch, Caterpillar, Cisco, Cognizant, The Dow Chemical Company, Fidelity
Charitable, GM, GitHub, John Deere, Verizon, and Individual Donors, 5 Feb.
2020, www.firstinspires.org/community/inspire/stem-gender-equity.

Content: This article written by Domonique Bulls, Ph.D., focuses on gender equity in
STEM education and the lack of it. Bulls suggests that the overall goal along our gender
equity journey should be to create a level playing field for all students. Bulls also
recognizes that girls have become more represented in STEM over the years, however the
percentage of girls in STEM careers and education programs is still very low. The root of
this statistic is found in our education systems; primary, secondary, and post-secondary.
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Bulls says, in order to fix this gender equity problem, we must be intentional about
including girls in STEM in school.

Author: Domonique Bulls is an educational researcher and her initiative is in STEM

gender equity. She started a global movement called “Girls Can Do Science Too” that
provides opportunities for girls to grow in STEM.

BEAM: The author of this article also founded an organization that stands by all the
ideas she provides in this article. This is her motivation behind the article, and it tells you
that she has clearly done research on this topic and is invested.

Cimpian, Joseph. “How Our Education System Undermines Gender Equity .” Brookings ,
Brookings Press , 2018, www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-
chalkboard/2018/04/23/how-our-education-system-undermines-gender-equity/.

Content: Joseph Cimpian analyzes gender roles in the classroom and how they affect
girls’ performances in STEM related subjects compared to boys. He starts by talking
about the assumptions that teachers make in primary school, based on gender, about
learning capabilities. These assumptions can be innate because they are so ingrained into
society and carry on into higher education. This can affect women’s outlook on certain
fields and possibly rive them away from a major. Cimpian and his colleagues have
conducted a study where they “examined how perceptions on college majors relate to
who is entering those majors” (Cimpian 2018). This study relates the degree of difficulty
women have for majoring in a certain field, how much science and math are required,
how creative a field is, how lucrative careers in the field are, and how helpful the field is
to society.

Author: Joseph Cimpian is an Associate professor of Economics and Education Policy at

NYU Steinhardt. His research focuses on gender equity, success, and how to study it. He
has a PhD in Economics of Education from Stanford University.

BEAM: This article focuses on how gender roles play into a person’s “success” in STEM
education, which is exactly what my research question is. The article is not peer reviewed
but is still written by a Professor and expert in the field.

Dalton, Ben, et al. “High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). 2013 Update
and High School Transcript Study: A First Look at Fall 2009 Ninth-Graders in
2013. NCES 2015-037.” National Center for Education Statistics, National
Center for Education Statistics, 1 June 2015. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED557571&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Abstract: “This First Look introduces new data from the High School Longitudinal
Study of 2009, collected in 2013 when most sample members were recent high school
graduates, and in 2014 from the high school transcripts of students who were freshmen in
2009. The analyses examine students' high school completion status; plans for
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postsecondary enrollment and financing of postsecondary education; and high school

coursetaking. Two appendices provide: (1) Technical Notes and Methodology; and (2)
Standard Error Tables.”

Author: All authors are education researchers at RTI International, a nonprofit

organization that provides research to the government and other clients.

BEAM: This study is a longitudinal study which reduces bias. It studies behavior over
multiple years and can take into account changing perspectives.

Leaper, Campbell, et al. “Adolescent Girls’ Experiences and Gender-Related Beliefs in

Relation to Their Motivation in Math/Science and English.” Journal Of Youth
And Adolescence, vol. 41, no. 3, Mar. 2012, pp. 268–282. EBSCOhost,
doi:10.1007/s10964-011-9693-z. 

Abstract: “Although the gender gap has dramatically narrowed in recent decades,
women remain underrepresented in many science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM) fields. This study examined social and personal factors in relation
to adolescent girls' motivation in STEM (math/science) versus non-STEM (English)
subjects. An ethnically diverse sample of 579 girls ages 13-18 years (M = 15) in the U.S.
completed questionnaires measuring their academic achievement, ability beliefs, values,
and experiences. Social and personal factors were hypothesized to predict motivation
(expectancy-value) differently in math/science (M/S) and English. Social factors included
perceived M/S and English support from parents and peers. Personal factors included
facets of gender identity (felt conformity pressure, gender typicality, gender-role
contentedness), gender-related attitudes, and exposure to feminism. In addition, grades,
age, parents' education, and ethnicity were controlled. Girls' M/S motivation was
positively associated with mother M/S support, peer M/S support, gender-egalitarian
beliefs, and exposure to feminism; it was negatively related to peer English support.
Girls' English motivation was positively associated with peer English support as well as
felt pressure from parents; it was negatively related to peer M/S support and felt peer
pressure. The findings suggest that social and personal factors may influence girls'
motivation in domain-specific ways.”

Author: All three authors have extensively researched the motivation and how gender
plays a role in it.

BEAM: Adolescent girls’ motivation in English is also being measured in this study.
English, which is defined very differently for girls in this society, acts as a reference
point for girls’ motivation in math/science.

Peters-Burton, ErinE., et al. “Inclusive STEM High School Design: 10 Critical

Components.” Theory Into Practice, vol. 53, no. 1, Jan. 2014, pp. 64–71.
EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/00405841.2014.862125.
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Abstract: “Historically, the mission of science, technology, engineering, and

mathematics (STEM) schools emphasized providing gifted and talented students with
advanced STEM coursework. However, a newer type of STEM school is emerging in the
United States: inclusive STEM high schools (ISHSs). ISHSs have open enrollment and
are focused on preparing underrepresented youth for the successful pursuit of advanced
STEM studies. They promise to provide a critical mass of nontraditional STEM students,
defying stereotypes about who does STEM and creating positive STEM identities. In this
article, we advance a conceptual framework designed to systematically capture the
qualities of ISHSs that can provide exciting new possibilities for students and
communities. An iterative review of the literature suggests 10 critical components that
may work together across 3 dimensions: design, implementation, and outcomes. Our goal
is to apply this framework in various school models to better understand the opportunity
structures that emerge and to create a theory of action of ISHSs.”

Author: Peters-Burton, Lynch and Behrend are professors at George Mason University
and the George Washington University in the College of Education and Human
Development and the College of Organizational Sciences and Communication. Barbara
Means is a Co-Director of the Center of Technology at SRI International.

BEAM: This research study eliminates the parameter of gender roles in STEM education.
So, now we can see how STEM educations plays out without these inherit gender roles in
our schools.

Sahin, Alpaslan, et al. “The Relationships among High School STEM Learning
Experiences, Expectations, and Mathematics and Science Efficacy and the
Likelihood of Majoring in STEM in College.” International Journal of Science
Education, vol. 39, no. 11, Jan. 2017, pp. 1549–1572. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1153569&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Abstract: “This study examines college students' science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM) choices as they relate to high school experiences, parent, teacher,
and self-expectations, and mathematics and science efficacy. Participants were 2246
graduates of a STEM-focused public Harmony Public Schools in Texas, Harmony Public
Schools (HPS). Descriptive analyses indicated that the overall percentage of HPS
graduates who chose a STEM major in college was greater than Texas state and national
averages. Logistic regression analyses revealed that males and Asian students are more
likely to choose a STEM major in college than females and non-Asian students,
respectively. Moreover, students whose parents had a college degree in the U.S. are more
likely to major in STEM fields than those who did not. Furthermore, males with higher
mathematics efficacy and females with higher science efficacy are more likely to choose
a STEM major than their counterparts with lower mathematics and science efficacy.”

Author: Sahin is a Doctor of Philosophy at Texas A&M and he is an expert in STEM

education. Ekmecki is a mathematics professor at Rice University and has published
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many papers related to STEM education. Waxman is also a professor at Texas A&M, in
the Education & Human Development Department.

BEAM: This source explores factors that lead up to a student’s decision to major in
engineering in college. The authors acknowledge that college is the most important part
in the perseverance of STEM majors, but students don’t typically decide they want to
major in STEM in college. I could cite this source alongside other ones since it is not
focusing on college students.

Sarathchandra, Dilshani, et al. “‘It’s Broader than Just My Work Here’: Gender
Variations in Accounts of Success among Engineers in U.S. Academia.” Social
Sciences (2076-0760), vol. 7, no. 3, Mar. 2018, p. 32. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=edb&AN=128729222&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Abstract: “Among science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines, the
percentage participation of women in engineering has shown significant gains over the
past few decades. However, women are still largely absent (or exist in very small
numbers) in tenured academic ranks in several engineering sub-fields. In this study we
present female and male engineers' varying understandings of 'scientific success' as a
potential contributor to women's retention and success in their (sub)fields. Using in-depth
interviews conducted among engineering graduate students and faculty at two U.S.
Northwest land-grant research universities, this study demonstrates the 'dual' nature in
accounts of scientific success, where formal measures of success operate in tandem with
informal measures. While both men and women attribute their success to formal and
informal measures, gender-based variations tend to be more prevalent among informal
measures. By examining these informal measures, this study highlights the context
surrounding success.”

Author: Sarathchandra, Haltinner, Lichtenberg and Tracey all teach Sociology at the
University of Idaho; they specialize in science, technology, knowledge, and perception.

BEAM: This source defines what “success” in an engineering field might be and explains
why women are less prone to these success factors. They interview each participant,
individually, which reduces bias. They also acknowledge the claim that engineering
equality has gone up over the decades, but if we look at the statistics in a different way
they show that some engineering fields have actually become less diverse.

Sax, Linda J., et al. “Women in Physics: A Comparison to Science, Technology,

Engineering, and Math Education over Four Decades.” Physical Review Physics
Education Research, vol. 12, no. 2, Jan. 2016, p. 020108. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1110031&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Abstract: “The dearth of women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)
fields has been lamented by scholars, administrators, policymakers, and the general
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public for decades, and the STEM gender gap is particularly pronounced in physics.
While previous research has demonstrated that this gap is largely attributable to a lack of
women pursuing physics in college, prior research reveals little in terms of the
characteristics and career interests of women who do plan to major in physics or how
these traits have evolved over time. To address these gaps, this study utilized nationwide
data on first-time, full-time college students to (1) document national trends in plans to
major in physics among women entering college, (2) document the career aspirations of
women who intend to major in physics, and (3) explore the characteristics of women who
intend to major in physics and how this population has evolved across time. This study
found that women's interest in physics has been consistently very low in the past four
decades. The most popular career aspiration among women who plan to major in physics
is research scientist, although this career aspiration is declining in popularity, while
increasing numbers of women say that they are undecided in their career choice. Further,
this study identifies a distinctive profile of the average female physics student as
compared to women in other STEM fields and women across all majors. Women who
plan to pursue a physics major tend to be confident in their math abilities, value college
as an opportunity to learn, plan to attend graduate school, and desire to make theoretical
contributions to science. However, they are less likely than women in other fields to have
a social activist orientation. These findings have important implications for scholars,
educators, administrators, and policymakers as they seek to recruit more women into the
physics field. [This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Gender in Physics.]”

Author: Sax, Lehman and Lim are all California professors whose research focuses on
the gender gap in STEM and women’s sense of identity. Barthelemy is an assistant
professor of physics at the University of Utah; he completed a fellowship in Finland
studying the motivation of students to pursue physics.

BEAM: The research done by these authors focuses on one STEM discipline which
reduces bias from other disciplines.

Snead, Natalie, “What motivates you in your STEM education?” Focus Group. March 3,
2020.

Content: I will ask about the classes they took prior to college, about their attitude
toward STEM prior to college, about their confidence levels in their field of study, what
drew them to the major, what keeps them in the major, and what their major is. I hope to
find a trend in this data and be able to relate it to motivational factors.

Author: Myself

BEAM: This will be a primary source that will collect first-hand answers from students
at UCF.

Starr, Christine R., and Campbell Leaper. “Do Adolescents’ Self-Concepts Moderate the
Relationship between STEM Stereotypes and Motivation?” Social Psychology of
Education, vol. 22, no. 5, Nov. 2019, p. 1109. EBSCOhost,
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search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=edb&AN=140372323&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Abstract: “Professionals in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are often
stereotyped as geniuses and nerds (e.g., socially awkward). These stereotypes may
demotivate some individuals from pursuing or remaining in STEM. However, these
beliefs may enhance motivation among individuals who feel that they fit in with the
stereotype. Guided by balanced identity theory and expectancy-value theory, our study
investigated the effect of trait-based stereotypes about people in STEM among a sample
of 256 U.S. high school students (Mage = 16, 59% girls, 65% Asian, 15% Latinx, 10%
White). We assessed students' trait-based nerd and genius stereotypes about STEM and
related self-concepts as well as their STEM motivation (competence and value beliefs).
Consistent with balanced identity theory, the effect and direction of endorsing nerd-
genius stereotypes was moderated by a student's own self-concepts. Endorsing
stereotypes was negatively related to motivation—but only among those low in the
related self-concept. Among those high in related self-concepts (e.g., high in nerd-genius
self-concept), endorsing STEM stereotypes (e.g., STEM is for geniuses) was unrelated to
STEM motivation. Girls, underrepresented students of color, and potential first-
generation college students may especially be negatively affected by the stereotypes due
to a greater likelihood that these stereotypes will be incongruent with their self-concepts.
Thus, trait-based stereotypes about people in STEM may perpetuate current gaps in
STEM.”

Author: Christine Starr has a PhD in developmental psychology and her research
interests include STEM identity and motivation among girls and women. Dr. Campbell
Leaper was her advisor in her PhD program.

BEAM: Primary research done to show the effects of stereotypes in real life.

Tao, Karen W., and Alberta M. Gloria. “Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Role of
Impostorism in STEM Persistence.” Psychology of Women Quarterly, vol. 43, no.
2, June 2019, pp. 151–164. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1177/0361684318802333.

Abstract: “Impostor phenomenon or "impostorism" refers to the experience of high-

achieving individuals (particularly women) who, despite being successful, attribute their
accomplishments to luck, and fear being exposed as frauds. In the current study, we
examined the association between impostorism and graduate student self-efficacy,
perceptions of the research-training environment, and attitudes toward academic
persistence of 224 women completing a science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM)-related doctoral degree. As hypothesized, participants who
identified more strongly with impostor characteristics reported a lower sense of self-
efficacy, more negative views of their academic context, and more pessimistic outlooks
toward attaining their doctorate. However, results from a multiple mediation analysis
revealed that women's levels of self-efficacy and perceptions of their doctoral
environment accounted for the effects of impostorism on their attitudes about academic
persistence. Also, the relation between impostorism and persistence attitudes
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strengthened as numerical representation of women in a STEM program increased.

Results illuminate the potential role STEM departments can have on students' persistence
by developing early opportunities for research collaborations and fostering an early sense
of accomplishment. Parents and teachers might also draw from our findings to develop
strategies to inoculate younger students from the insidious effects of gender-based
stereotypes. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are
available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/page/pwq/suppl/index: 

Author: Karan Tao’s research is focused on the disparities in access, service, and quality
of mental health and education; at the University of Utah. Gloria Alberta is a counseling
psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has won several
awards for her research that is focused in learning disparities of minority students.

BEAM: This source takes a different side of women’s “success” in STEM and introduces
“impostorism”. I can integrate pieces of this article into my research paper and possibly
use it as an implication of the STEM gender disparity.