Abstract
How to address the gender gap in STEM has been widely debated. Among the ways to encourage females to pursue STEM careers are outreach programs offered by schools and universities. This manuscript reviews the implementation of a novel program, the Women in Science Experience (WISE), a STEM-focused residential summer camp for high school females, located on the campus of a small university in the USA. Upon the conclusion of WISE, participants were asked to respond to a series of open-ended questions about their perceptions of science and science careers. Using thematic analysis, responses were coded and organized. Three themes emerged from this analysis. Love of Science showed how WISE participants appreciate science. Aspirations for Success resulted from career and life interests. Impact of WISE demonstrated how students’ experiences at WISE affected future goals. The findings from this article speak to ongoing debates about how to maintain interest in STEM fields by females in secondary and post-secondary education.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bostwick, V., & Weinberg, B. (2018). Nevertheless she persisted? Gender peer effects in doctoral STEM programs (National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 25028). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.
Bryant Davis, K., & Hardin, S. (2013). Making STEM fun: How to organize a STEM camp. Teaching Exceptional Children, 45(4), 60–67.
Cherney, I., & Campbell, K. (2011). A league of their own: Do single-sex schools increase girls’ participation in the physical sciences? Sex Roles, 65, 712–724.
Cheryan, S., Plaut, V. C., Davies, P., & Steele, C. M. (2009). Ambient belonging: How stereotypical environments impact gender participation in computer science. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97, 1045–1060.
Cheryan, S., Ziegler, S., Montoya, A., & Jiang, L. (2017). Why are some STEM field more gender balanced than others? Psychological Bulletin, 143(1), 1–35.
Coffey, A., & Atkinson, P. (1996). Making sense of qualitative data: Complementary research strategies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Davis, A. (2016). 5 ways that educators can help young women succeed in STEM fields. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, 33(13), 23.
Dubetz, T., & Wilson, J. (2013). Girls in engineering, mathematics, and science, GEMS: A science outreach program for middle-school female students. Journal of STEM Education, 14(3), 41–47.
Emeagwali, N. S. (2016). Women in STEM: Their evolution, triumphs and challenges. Techniques: Connecting Education & Careers, 91(8), 14–19.
Gunderson, E., Ramirez, G., Levine, S., & Beilock, S. (2012). The role of parents and teachers in the development of gender-related math attitudes. Sex Roles, 66, 153–166.
Heilbronner, N. (2013). The STEM pathway for women: What has changed? Gifted Child Quarterly, 51(1), 39–55.
Kant, J., Burckhard, S., & Meyers, R. (2018). Engaging high school girls in native American culturally responsive STEAM enrichment activities. Journal of STEM Education, 18(5), 15–25.
Legewie, J., & DiPrete, T. (2014). The high school environment and the gender gap in science and engineering. Sociology in Education, 87(4), 259–280.
Master, A., & Meltzoff, A. (2016). Building bridges between psychological science and education: Cultural stereotypes, STEM, and equity. Prospects, 46, 215–234.
McAlister, A., Lee, D., Eldert, K., Kajfez, R., Faber, C., & Kennedy, M. (2017). Qualitative coding: An approach to assess inter-rater reliability. American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition. Columbus, OH: American Society for Engineering Education. Retrieved July 22, 2019 from https://peer.asee.org/qualitative-coding-an-approach-to-assess-inter-rater-reliability.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Morris, C. (2014). North Carolina community college helps increase women in STEM. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, 31(23), 4–6.
National Research Council. (2015). Identifying and supporting productive STEM program in out-of-school settings. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
National Science Board. (2018). Science and engineering indicators 2018. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2017). OECD science, technology and industry scoreboard 2017: The digital transformation. Paris: Author.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2019). PISA Data Explorer. Paris: Author. Retrieved February 4, 2019 from http://pisadataexplorer.oecd.org/ide/idepisa/.
Provasnik, S., Malley, L., Stephens, M., Landeros, K., Perkins, R., & Tang, J. H. (2016). Highlights from TIMSS and TIMSS advanced 2015: Mathematics and science achievement of U.S. students in grades 4 and 8 and in advanced courses at the end of high school in an international context (NCES 2017-002). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.
Riegel-Crumb, C., & Moore, C. (2014). The gender gap in high school physics: Considering the context of local communities. Social Science Quarterly, 95(1), 253–268.
Sax, L., Kanny, M., Riggers-Piehl, T., Whang, H., & Paulson, L. (2015). “But I’m not good at math”: The changing salience of mathematical self-concept in shaping women’s and men’s STEM aspirations. Research in Higher Education, 56, 813–842.
Shapiro, J., & Williams, A. (2012). The role of stereotype threats in undermining girls’ and women’s performance and interest in STEM fields. Sex Roles, 66, 175–183.
Tellhed, U., Backstrom, M., & Bjorklund, F. (2017). Will I fit in and do well? The importance of social belongingness and self-efficacy for explaining gender differences in interest in STEM and HEED majors. Sex Roles, 77, 86–96.
Ullman, E. (2017). She believed she could: How schools are encouraging girls to enter STEM fields. Tech & Learning, 37(10), 36–40.
Walker, D., & Dalmage, S. (2016). The STEM conference for girls: Providing access to opportunity. Techniques: Connecting Education & Careers, 91(8), 40–44.
Walton, G., Logel, C., Peach, J., Spencer, S., & Zanna, P. (2015). Two brief interventions to mitigate a “chilly climate” transform women’s experience, relationships, and achievement in engineering. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107(2), 468–485.
Xu, Y. (2015). Focusing on women in STEM: A longitudinal examination of gender-based earning gap of college graduates. The Journal of Higher Education, 86(4), 489–523.
Yang, Y., & Barth, J. (2015). Gender differences in STEM undergraduates’ vocational interests: People-thing orientation and goal affordances. Journal of Vocational Education, 91, 65–75.
Acknowledgments
The author wishes to thank the Duke Energy Foundation and the Farmer Family Foundation for support of WISE and to the Butler County and Warren County Educational Service Centers for their marketing and financial support of WISE. The author also wishes to thank Dr. Christa Currie for her work as co-director of WISE, Dr. Meg Riestenberg for her work in the field with WISE students at a water stream, Dr. Laura Saylor for her leadership in the School of Education, and Dr. Diana Davis for her leadership in the School of Behavioral and Natural Sciences and as Provost of Mount St. Joseph University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
In order to participate in the survey, parental consent and student assent had to be given, as per the approved protocol submitted to the institution’s Institutional Review Board (IRB).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bindis, M. “I Love Science”: Opinions of Secondary School Females Toward Science and Science Careers. Int J of Sci and Math Educ 18, 1655–1671 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-019-10036-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-019-10036-x