ERIC Number: EJ1008245
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Mar
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1931-7913
EISSN: N/A
Stereotyped: Investigating Gender in Introductory Science Courses
Lauer, Shanda; Momsen, Jennifer; Offerdahl, Erika; Kryjevskaia, Mila; Christensen, Warren; Montplaisir, Lisa
CBE - Life Sciences Education, v12 n1 p30-38 Mar 2013
Research in science education has documented achievement gaps between men and women in math and physics that may reflect, in part, a response to perceived stereotype threat. Research efforts to reduce achievement gaps by mediating the impact of stereotype threat have found success with a short values-affirmation writing exercise. In biology and biochemistry, however, little attention has been paid to the performance of women in comparison with men or perceptions of stereotype threat, despite documentation of leaky pipelines into professional and academic careers. We used methodologies developed in physics education research and cognitive psychology to 1) investigate and compare the performance of women and men across three introductory science sequences (biology, biochemistry, physics), 2) document endorsement of stereotype threat in these science courses, and 3) investigate the utility of a values-affirmation writing task in reducing achievement gaps. In our study, analysis of final grades and normalized learning gains on content-specific concept inventories reveals no achievement gap in the courses sampled, little stereotype threat endorsement, and no impact of the values-affirmation writing task on student performance. These results underscore the context-dependent nature of achievement gaps and stereotype threat and highlight calls to replicate education research across a range of student populations. (Contains 7 tables and 2 figures.)
Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Physics, Achievement Gap, Biology, Cognitive Psychology, Biochemistry, Stereotypes, Writing Exercises, Introductory Courses, Gender Bias, Gender Issues, Achievement Gains, Educational Research, Performance Based Assessment, Measures (Individuals), Social Attitudes, Outcome Measures
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A