SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS (STEM)

THE EFFECTS OF PROJECT LEAD THE WAY LAUNCH CURRICULUM ON K-

5 GIRLS

A Dissertation

Presented to the

Faculty of

California State University,

San Bernardino

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Education

in

Educational Leadership

by

Mina J. Blazy

Date June 2019

 SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS (STEM)

THE EFFECTS OF PROJECT LEAD THE WAY LAUNCH CURRICULUM ON K-

5 GIRLS PERCEPTIONS IN ENGINEERING

A Dissertation

Presented to the

Faculty of

California State University,

San Bernardino

by

Mina J. Blazy

June 2019

Approved by:

Dr. Joseph Jesunathadas, Committee Chair

Dr. Donna Schnorr, Committee Member

Dr. Melda Gaskins, Committee Member

 2019 Mina J. Blazy
 ABSTRACT

The lack of women entering STEM fields, science, technology,

engineering and mathematics is referred to as the leaky pipeline. In this

document I will discuss whether or not the influence of STEM informational text

when introduced at a preadolescent age will influence whether girls will take an

interest in STEM fields or identify themselves as future scientist or engineers.

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Not sure yet.

iv
 DEDICATION

Not sure yet

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv

LIST OF TABLES vi

LIST OF FIGURES vii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Problem Statement 1

Second-Level Heading 2

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

First-Level Heading: If the First-Level Heading is Long, Divide into Two

Lines and Single Space 5

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

Research Design 8

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS

Results of the Study11

CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

Overview......15

APPENDIX A: INSERT APPENDIX TITLE HERE 17

APPENDIX B: IF AN APPENDIX TITLE EXCEEDS ONE LINE, SINGLE

SPACE AND LINE UP THE 2ND LINE WITH THE TITLE.19

APPENDIX C: INSERT APPENDIX TITLE HERE................................................21

REFERENCES 23

v
 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Reasons why Women Leave STEM careers .10

Table 2. STEM Employment; Gender and educational attainment, 2000 and 2009

(Beede, Julian, Langdon, McKittrick, Khan, Doms, et al., 2011)..........................12

Table 3. The Difference in Percent change in bachelor degrees earned from

1991-2010 in STEM fields....................................................................................12

Table 4: Girls Interest in Fiction, Science and Animal Books, as Reported by

Girls and by Families. Data from the subset of girls whose families were also
interviewed (n=29)(Ford, Brickhouse, Lottero-Perdue, & Kittleson, 2006).
.... 16

Note: Delete this page if you do not include tables in your text. Tables that

are included in an appendix do not require a List of Tables.

vi
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. TBD........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

Note: If you delete this page, make sure to create a new Section Break on

the previous page or your pages may not number correctly. Go to Page

Layout and click on Breaks. From the list of section breaks, choose

Next Page.

vii
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Students in the K-5 arena that are exposed to STEM curriculum are more

likely to become affective consumers of STEM related information. Children will

be more successful in their educational experience with the inclusion of STEM in

their elementary school years (R. Lamb, Akmal, & Petrie, 2015). The definition of

STEM is as follows: STEM learning is the acquisition of knowledge and skills

through experience and study integrated through multiple lens allowing for the

appreciation of the encompassing complexity and cross-cutting ideas across the

STEM disciplines as a whole (R. Lamb et al., 2015, p. 411). These science

learnings concerns itself with the interdependence, integration and

implementation of multiple disciplines.

Of the Fortune 500 companies, 4.6% of women were CEOs, 16.9 % of

women held board sets and only 14.6% held high ranking positions. Women

make up 15% of congress and 12% of governorships. Women only hold 19%

leadership positions (CEO) in not for profit companies of the largest charities

(Catalyst, 2014 & Joslyn, 2009). According the College Board (2012) girls are

make up 55% of the top 10% in high schools with and average higher GPA than

boys at 3.42 and 3.28 respectively. The problem is called the Leaky Pipeline.

8
The leaky pipeline is a metaphor to describe the under representation of

women in STEM jobs. Students leave the STEM pipeline at different stages.

High school students change their mind before entering college, students in

higher education change majors and some receive a STEM degree and enter

completely different careers. Women are more likely to leave compared to men.

This pipeline is a sex-based filter. One sex leaves the pipeline where one arrives

at the end. This isnt necessarily a conscious decision be the results in a gender

imbalance in STEM (NCES, 2001).

Problem Statement

Inequity

Based on the Leaky Pipeline and Women in STEM there is a substantial

difference in the amount of females that enter STEM fields and stay in STEM

fields compared to males who enter and stay in STEM fields (Blickenstaff, 2005).

The self-efficacy of women in STEM changes at middle school because of

negative attitudes towards STEM initiatives (R. L. Lamb, Annetta, Meldrum, &

Vallett, 2012).

Gender bias. There is a substantial bias when it comes to STEM

education. Womens perspectives are being missed because of the lack of

9
women in STEM careers. Gifted women are not able to reach their fullest

potential base on gender stereotypes (Lupart, Cannon, & Telfer, 2004)

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this study will be studying how girls in their adolescent, K-5

years are effected after being exposed to PLTW Launch STEM curriculum.

STEM is a wide area of study; the objective of this study will be focused on the

Next Generations Science Standards (NGSS) for kindergarten through fifth

grade.

Research Questions or Hypotheses

How will exposure to STEM Project Lead the way curriculum affect

elementary female students desire to have an identity within STEM?

How will exposure of engineering informational text affect elementary

female students desire to have an identity as a future engineer?

How will exposure of science informational text affect elementary female

students desire to have an identity as a future engineer?

How will the way educators teach STEM curriculum affect the beliefs in

STEM ideas for girls with regards to STEM careers?

How will Problem-Based Learning affect the way female students

10
engagement in STEM and consider STEM careers based on the exposure in an

elementary school setting?

How do elementary school girls perceive engineers?

How does a third grade female students perception of an engineer compare or differ than
the perception of a fifth grade female student?

What part of the PLTW Launch curriculum influences a third grade female students
perception of an aerospace-engineer compared to a fifth grade female students
perception of a robotics-engineer?
a. How does a third grade female students perception of an aerospace engineer
change from the beginning of the school year after being exposed to the third
grade flight and space PLTW Launch curriculum?
b. How does a fifth grade female students perception of a robotic engineer
change from the beginning of the school year after being exposed to the fifth
grade automation and robotics PLTW Launch curriculum?

2a. How does the parent of a student in third grade perceive a female as being an engineer
at the beginning of the school year?

2b. How does the parent of a third grade student perceive a female as an engineer after
their child has been exposed to the aerospace engineering curriculum?

2c. How does the parent of a third grade student perceive a female as an engineer after
observing their child collaborating on aerospace engineering projects?

Significance of the Study

It is significant to study females in STEM careers because we are missing

out on innovation that women can bring to the field. By changing stereotypes we

will afford women the opportunity to not be stopped based on gender bias.

According to the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) children start as early

as preadolescent in discovering what career choices they are considering (Sheu

et al., 2010) If we give pre-adolescent girls access to STEM information text

11
and/or PBL at an early age the assumption is that this will give girls a head start

in considering STEM careers.

Theoretical Underpinnings

Girls are stereotyped in STEM careers compared to boys. Statistically

females make up around 48% all jobs but only 24% of STEM jobs and tend to not

go into STEM Careers.

Assumptions

The assumption is that both female and male students should have

equitable access to STEM curriculum. Currently pre-adolescent girls and boys

start gender bias as early as second grade.

Delimitations

The study is based on pre-adolescent female students since this population

is underrepresented in science technology engineering and mathematics fields.

STEM itself is a wide range of study. For example, science can mean, physics,

chemistry, biology, anatomy, and etcetera. Technology, engineering and

mathematics also can be broken into its counter parts. In order to get a clear

understanding of student beliefs the student will focus on engineering. Middle

and high school female students will not be looked at during the study.

12
 Definitions of Key Terms

1. STEM, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (United States

Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census | San Bernardino, n.d.)

2. Gender gap, the discrepancy in opportunities, status, attitudes, etc.,

between men and women (Blickenstaff, 2005).

3. Pre-adolescent, ages 8-11 years old

4. Science Books, books with science themes that span a range of genres

and content areasinformational books that include established scientific

facts, but also books that include collection of science experiments,

geography and travel profile scientist or the history of science, artistic

and poetic books that model nature appreciation and fiction books with

science, nature, or animal themes (Ford et al., 2006, p. 271)

5. Leaky pipeline, a metaphor frequently use to describe the fact that

women are under-represented in STEM careers carrying student from

secondary school through university and on to a job in STEM.

(Blickenstaff, 2005)

6. Gender inequality, refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of

individuals based on their gender.

7. PLTW, Project Lead the Way initiative in STEM curriculum and supporting

K-12 students in having access to STEM informational text and problem

based learning

8. PBL, Problem-based and Project based learning

13
 9. Feminist classroom, collaboration and a non-hierarchical ethos, discussion

rather than all lecture. There could be a balance between lecture and

discussion. Equity and collaboration as hallmarks (Seymour, 2007) in

the classroom. Three themes: Resisting Hierarchy, using experience as

resource and transformative learning. (Feminist pedagogy GEA

gender and education association, n.d.)

10. STEM Informational Text, text written with factual information about

science, technology engineering or mathematics at the elementary level

K-5 grades.

11. STEM Narrative Information Text, text that is factual and written in a story

format

12. Engineering Fields, civil, chemical, bio-medical, robotics and other types

of engineering

13. STEM fields, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, geology,

mathematics, physics, social and behavioral science

14. Design process for engineering, ask, explore, model, evaluate and explain

Positionality of the Researcher

This template is to be used in conjunction with the Thesis and Dissertation

Guide. You should include your dissertation work directly in to this template, and

use the Thesis and Dissertation Guide to learn more about the content of each

section.

14
 Summary

In chapter two I will give background on a literature review of study with

regards to women in STEM. There will be a comparison of women and men in

the study and what researchers are saying about women in STEM careers.

There is background information on how girls and boys perceive literature

fictionally and informationally.

15
 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Leaky Pipeline

Underrepresentation of women

According to Blickenstaff, in the Gender and Education Journal, female

students start to show real interest in STEM fields in middle and high school but

change their minds by the time the enter college, change their field of study

before graduating from college or even graduate with a STEM degree and decide

on a different career entirely. Women compared to men leak out of this area of

study more often than men. The leaky pipeline states that women are more likely

to not complete a STEM degree or stay in their field of study compared to men.

Some of the major publications are Gender and Education, Journal of

Research in Science Teaching, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Journal

Science Education Technology, Urban Education, and Social Psychology of

Education.

There have been many researchers on the subject of why women are

underrepresented in STEM Fields. In the journal, Gender and Education,

Blickenstaff found nine areas of why women leave STEM fields or beliefs in

STEM. Table 1 shows the explanations or reasons that were found:

Table 1: Reasons why Women Leave STEM careers

16
Number Reasons
1 Biological differences between men and women
2 Girls lack of academic preparation for a science major/career
3 Girls poor attitude toward science and lack of positive experiences with
science in childhood
4 The absence of female scientist/engineers as role models
5 Science curricula ae irrelevant to many girls
6 The pedagogy of science classes favors male students
7 A chilly climate exists for girls/women in science classes
8 Cultural pressure on girls/women to conform to traditional gender roles
9 An inherent masculine worldview in scientific epistemology
Note. Adapted from Women and science careers: leaky pipeline or gender filter
by Blickenstaff, 2005, p. 371-372.

There have been studies where researchers believed that women were

inferior intellectually to men based on their brain size since mens brains, on

average are bigger. However, these findings were largely refuted. Some genius

have had smaller brain and womens brain sizes were proportional to their body

mass (Blickenstaff, 2005, p. 372)

More recently the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

shows that there are more similarities between genders than there are

differences when it pertains to cognitive ability in science (Hyde & Linn, 2006).

According to NAEP women earn almost half as many Ph.D.s in biology and not

as many Ph.D.s in physical science and engineering. Physical science women

earn about 25% and in engineering women earn a small 15% of Ph.D.s. Female

professors in biology are 30% compared to physical science and engineering

which are 16% and 17% respectively. These biases can have an impact on

decisions about admissions, hiring, and promotion. These biases may contribute

to popular beliefs about same-sex education and learning styles, and dissuade

17
some individuals from persisting in science (Hyde & Linn, 2006).

In 1996 the National Research Council (NRC) set forth a movement to

have higher standards in science education. The National Science Education

Standards (NSES) were to help teachers with the introduction of science material

with an emphasis in differences and equity by helping minorities and women.

The diversity of todays student population and the commitment to science

education for all requires a firm belief that all students can learn science (Read

national science education standards at nap.edu, n.d., p. 29)

The now Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) was influenced by

the NSES and the NRC on its continued efforts to improve equity and diversity.

Still the nation has a gap in learning in science education and an even further

gap in science with regards to minorities. NGSS stated that there were three

main areas found in their literature findings that will impact girls and increase

their affinity and confidence in science; (1) instructional strategies to increase

girls science achievement and their intentions to continue studies in science, (2)

curricula to improve girls achievement and confidence in science by promoting

images of successful females in science, and (3) classrooms and schools

organizational structure in ways that benefit girls in science" (Next Generation

Science Standards: All Standards, All Students - Appendix D Diversity and

Equity 6-14-13.pdf, n.d.)

18
 In 2009, 52% of men and 48% of women held all jobs in the United States

compared to 76% of men and 24% of women holding STEM jobs (Beede, Julian,

Langdon, McKittrick, Khan, & Doms, 2011).

Table 2: Total and STEM Employment by Gender and educational attainment,

2000 and 2009
Male Female Percent Female
2000 2009 2000 2009 2000 2009
All Workers 69,098 73,530 60,619 67,058 47% 48%
College-educated 18,995 22,167 16,415 21,433 46% 49%
STEM Workers 5,321 5,640 1,680 1,790 24% 24%
College-educated 3,259 3,738 1,002 1,199 24% 24%
Source: ESA Calculations from Census 2000 and 2009 American Community Survey-use
microdata. Estimates are for employed persons age 16 and over

There is a high participation for women in psychology fields compared

STEM fields. These STEM fields are listed in Table 3 and are rated by high,

medium, medium-low and low participation of women in STEM.

Table 3: The Difference in Percent change in bachelor degrees earned from

1991-2010 in STEM fields.
Bachelor Starting % of Ending % of
Degree % women women
Rating STEM Field change from Participating in Participating
1991-2010 field (1991) in field
(2000)
High Psychology +8% 70% 78%
Medium Biosciences +9% 50% 59%
Medium Social sciences +5% 50% 55%
Medium- Physical +9% 31% 40%
low sciences
Medium- -4% 48% 44%
Mathematics
low
Computer -10% 30% 20%
Low
sciences
Low Engineering +2% 15% 17%
Women, minorities and persons with disabilities in science and engineering:
(Lehming et al., 2013)

19
 Unemployment in STEM careers is higher for women than men. Women

claim family obligation for leaving work or even the career in STEM fields. The

above shows a large discrepancy of women in mathematics, computer science

and engineering fields.

Feminist Pedagogy

Womens experiences in science have been neglected. Universities across the

United States have moved toward transforming their perspective of women in

science.

such as Miami Universitys Project Discover, the University of Michigans

Women in Science Program and Sue Rossers University of South

Carolina System Model Project for the Transformation of Science and

Math teaching to Reach women in Varied campus settings, illustrate, to

varying degrees, some ways in which science classrooms and science

curricula can be redesigned to empower marginalized students,

acknowledge different ways of knowing, and provide a safer environment

within which students experiences and concerns will become central to

the learning process (Mayberry & Rees, 1997, p. 59)

Feminist challenge that we consider science in a different perspective; historical

and social context have been noted by male perspectives over the past

centuries. The goal is to balance this belief politically, socially and historically

(Herndon, 1996).

20
Science, from the start, has been a male perspective. Very little has been given

from a female perspective in classrooms and curriculum. We have much to learn

about the perspective of women when it comes to science education.

Reading, Elementary Girls

Girls tend to be strong in reading and writing at young ages. The assumption is

that girls are more likely to find pleasure in reading; literature allows them to

relate to fictional characters and to understand how their lives are experiences.

Girls, like women, often cite strong preferences for reading fiction (Ford et al.,

2006, p. 272). On the other hand, girls tend to not create scientific ideas as they

do with fictional characters. This is primarily due to scientist be stereotypically

masculine. The views of girls may be that science books are for boys and

fictional books are for girls (Dutro, 2001).

By the time children enter second grade they have already learned gender

bias according to Dutro (2001). Girls and boys are asked to line up into separate

lines. Boys and girls learn a young age gender differences. Depending on their

home life this could be from washing the dishes or cleaning up the yard. When

fifth grade boys where asked if they liked a particular book it may have been

influenced by another boy, by their masculinity or hierarchy in the class. Boys in

this study were open about showing their masculinity and how displeased they

were with books that were considered girls. Girls chose books that were deemed

more likely to be a boys book with pride showing their self-worth. Even when

21
boys chose books that were considered girls books they were shielded from

ridicule (Dutro, 2001) because of their social status in the class.

Still most reading for girls and boys is more fictional. Even when boys

choose informational books it is because it is the norm at home and at school.

Girls literacy are mostly fictional in experience. The omission of written texts in

science instruction may e particularly detrimental to girls. Throughout their

school lives, girls are consistently strong readers, and outperform boys on

measures of reading achievement (Ford et al., 2006).

In the study, Elementary Girls Science Reading at Home and School, the

participants were third graders. There were 45 third graders from six different

classrooms and their family members. Of the classrooms the demographics are

64% White, 24% African American, 8% Asian/Asian American, 2% Latina, and

2% multiethnic. The students were interviewed individually about the books they

liked or disliked over a 50 minute period of time, family members were

interviewed for 40 minutes, and teachers were interviewed between 45 minutes

and 120 minutes and also afforded a wide range of science literacy. These

teachers were part of a NSF project in literacy and were more likely to have

science literature in the classroom (Ford et al., 2006).

The availability of science books at home and at school where available.

There were differences of availability at home compared to peers in the study.

The findings of science books and where they came from compared to home and

school were different. Many of the girls reported that they received their books

22
from the classroom bins and some of them reported that if they had them at

home they came from either the library or local book store. The books read in

class were mostly of life science alongside science hands-on activities. If there

was other science taught in class it was less likely that a science book would be

accessible. Also, the book stores had more life science books compared to other

sciences where the library had a better mix of informational science books (Ford

et al., 2006)

Above all 88% of the girls stated that they liked animal books. They also

liked books that became movies and were part of a series. Most of the girls did

not name titles and only 46% of girls mentioned science books as a choice.

Parents gave a lower percentage on whether or not their daughters enjoyed

animal books or science books.

Table 4. Girls Interest in Fiction, Science and Animal Books, as Reported by Girls
and by Families. Data from the subset of girls whose families were also
interviewed (n=29).
Genre Girls Reported Interest Parents Report of Their
(percentage of Girls indicating Daughters Interests (Percentage
interest) of Girls)
Fiction 100 100
Animal 86 27
Science 46 21

Based on the study girls need to have access to science text, most importantly

narrative style science books. Also, the study shows that the girls idea of

science is mostly tied to school. The researchers started a study group where

girls had access to science books outside of school and with a group of peers

23
that had the same interest. Also, book clubs for mothers and daughters were

started to peek interest in science and to help families learn the importance of

science together (Ford et al., 2006).

Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the NAEP state that by the

time students enter third grade their literature should be 50% fiction and 50%

informational text through fifth grade. By eighth grade students should read

literary 45% of the time to informational text 55%. By the time students enter

twelfth grade only 30% is literary reading and 70% is informational text. The goal

is for students to be ready for college reading and to have the knowledge for

careers (Young, 2013).

Stotsky, a leader in educational reform, believes that teachers are not

prepared for this leap in CCSS (Stotsky, n.d.). Dr. Stotsky believes that

informational text is not the reason students arent prepared for college. She

believes is from the lack of literature since 1960 and the offer of shorter texts

based on multiculturalism (Young, 2013).

It has also been found that parents choice of careers and gender roles

play an important part in how girls choose careers (Jacobs, Chhin, & Bleeker,

2006). Parents that have careers in specific fields are more likely to encourage

their child to choose a particular field (Lupart et al., 2004). Parents also have a

strong influence on gender stereotypes both positive and negative (Jacobs et al.,

2006).

24
25
 Summary

In the next chapter the method of experimentation will be presented

including the setting of the study.

26
 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The research design will be mixed methods of interviews with students,

teachers and their parents, including surveys with students, families and

teachers. This will be a casual-comparative design the independent variable is

the type of information text that is or will be issued to female pre-adolescent

students. Students will be surveyed with regards to their reading likes and

dislikes, STEM interests and possible career interests. Over a year students will

be given specific STEM informational text that correlates to the current grade

level STEM curriculum. This Post-positivist Worldview comes from the idea that

girls tend to like reading; therefore the antecedent is present in that girls enjoy

narrative style of reading. If we offer girls information reading, in a narrative

form, with the intent to increase interest in STEM fields, the outcome will change

the perspective of careers in these fields. Female student will also be given non-

narrative form of informational text to supplement the narrative informational text

during the study.

Research Setting

Setting for this research study will be at two different elementary schools.

One school will employ the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Launch Curriculum and

the control will use the district approved science curriculum. The focus will be

27
with fifth grade girls that have been exposed to STEM hands-on curriculum in

conjunction with STEM informational text. The amount of girls will be determined

by parent permission and will be identified after being IRB approved. The

independent variable are the groups of girls that will be given STEM informational

text with purpose compared to another group that will not be given STEM

informational text but what the teacher normally offers the students in STEM

subject areas.

Research Sample

The

Research Data

TBD

Data Collection

TBD

Data Analysis

TBD

Validity and Trustworthiness

TBD

Positionality of the Researcher

I had no idea at the time that my high school chemistry would influence me

to be become a science educator. I neither felt nor saw a gender bias from this

teacher; he was equitable with all students. I enjoyed learning chemistry and

28
excelled at it. The following year my anatomy and physiology class felt the

same. I performed well that class as well and again, teaching was gender

neutral.

After leaving high school I attended the Dubuque University. I was in their

flight program. I remember sitting in a classroom of surrounded by a sea of

Caucasian young men. For the first time, as the only female I felt intimidated.

While the classroom setting was unnerving, once I was in the aircraft, I was in my

element and received high marks for my take offs and landings. I did not receive

encouragement in the classroom from the professor so I began to withdraw and

ended up leaving Dubuque University.

At Northern Illinois University I took an advanced cell biology course. Even

with a grade of B. I didnt realize it at the time how difficult this course was but

when my professor asked me if I was going to attend medical school, I asked

why he asked that question and he said that few students in his course earn that

grade and most were heading to medical school. I recall just smiling at him and

wasnt sure what to think of his comment. I continued pursuing my education

degree where I minored in biology. I knew the subject matter and couldnt wait to

begin teaching young minds. Despite my happiness in education, I still had a

little voice in the back of my head that still nags me today; I want to be a pilot.

According to the National Science Foundation (NSF) women actually earn

at least 42% of Ph.D.s in science and engineering. However, women only make

up 28% of faculty tenure positions in these fields. This data were researched

29
between the years 1991 through 2010 (Lehming, Gawalt, Cohen, & Bell, 2013).

Stereotypes in STEM fields are not limited to the United States but around the

world. The Equal Futures Partnership helps women around the world,

specifically 13 countries, with the hope of giving women economic opportunities.

One goal of this program is to increase access to quality education and career

opportunities for women in STEM fields around the world. (Jackson, Hillard, &

Schneider, 2014)

While many universities have some sort of diversity training for faculty and

staff (Jackson et al., 2014). Most institutions fail in follow up training and

development which further exacerbates a vexing problem. This might explain

why many women go through STEM based programs and are less likely to

continue.

Since there is a lack of representation in STEM Careers, young women

stereotypes continue with or without environmental influence. Studies show that

stereotypes are more likely to begin in high school and continue thereafter.

These egalitarian beliefs dont stop gender stereotypes unless cognition is

happening with regards to these beliefs. Women lose out on promotions and

equal pay based on gender stereotypes in science.

Women tend to still leave the field of interest more often than men

(Blickenstaff, 2005). In this study, I will research and test whether or not STEM

informational text and social media content will influence young female interest in

STEM initiatives alongside side their male counterparts.

30
 From Galileo to Newton science and everything learned and taught was

from a male perspective and continues today for the most part. I learned very

little about women in science as a student in the twentieth century. While many

people can give a brief explanation of Newtons Laws of Motion or Albert

Einsteins Theory of Relativity how many can name just one accomplishment that

women have made to science?

Marie Curie discovered the elements Radium and Polonium. Mae Jemison

was an engineer, physician and NASA Astronaut. She was also the first female,

African American to explore space. Even though there are dozens of women

who have pioneered through breakthroughs in science we are less likely to hear

or read about them in science curriculum.

The goal of this research is to understand and suggest ways of integrating

curriculum that is equitable for female students.

Summary

Briefly summarize what has been stated and describe the organization of

the next chapter.

31
 REFERENCES

Beede, D., Julian, T., Langdon, D., McKittrick, G., Khan, B., & Doms, M. (2011).

Women in stem: a gender gap to innovation | economics & statistics

administration. Retrieved November 27, 2016, from

http://www.esa.doc.gov/reports/women-stem-gender-gap-innovation

Beede, D., Julian, T., Langdon, D., McKittrick, G., Khan, B., Doms, M., &

Economics and Statistics Administration (DOC). (2011). Women in stem: a

gender gap to innovation. US Department of Commerce.

Blickenstaff, J. C. (2005). Women and Science Careers: Leaky Pipeline or

Gender Filter? Gender and Education, 17(4), 369386.

Dutro, E. (2001). But thats a girls book!" Exploring gender boundaries in

childrens reading practices. The Reading Teacher, 55(4), 376384.

32
Feminist pedagogy GEA gender and education association. (n.d.). Retrieved

November 27, 2016, from

http://www.genderandeducation.com/issues/feminist-pedagogy/

Ford, D. J., Brickhouse, N. W., Lottero-Perdue, P., & Kittleson, J. (2006).

Elementary Girls Science Reading at Home and School. Science

Education, 90(2), 270288.

Herndon, G. (1996). Gender difference, cultural sameness: a regional feminist

pedagogy. Transformations, 7(2), 6178.

Hyde, J. S., & Linn, M. C. (2006). Gender Similarities in Mathematics and

Science. Science, 314(5799), 599600.

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1132154

Jackson, S. M., Hillard, A. L., & Schneider, T. R. (2014). Using implicit bias

training to improve attitudes toward women in STEM. Social Psychology

of Education, 17(3), 419438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-014-9259-5

Jacobs, J. E., Chhin, C. S., & Bleeker, M. M. (2006). Enduring links: parents

expectations and their young adult childrens gender-typed occupational

choices. Educational Research and Evaluation, 12(4), 395407.

https://doi.org/10.1080/13803610600765851

Lamb, R., Akmal, T., & Petrie, K. (2015). Development of a cognition-priming

model describing learning in a stem classroom. Journal of Research in

Science Teaching, 52(3), 410437.

33
Lamb, R. L., Annetta, L., Meldrum, J., & Vallett, D. (2012). Measuring science

interest: Rasch validation of the science interest survey. International

Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 10(3), 643668.

Lehming, R., Gawalt, J., Cohen, S., & Bell, R. (2013). Women, minorities, and

persons with disabilities in science and engineering. National Science

Foundation. Retrieved from www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/

Lupart, J. L., Cannon, E., & Telfer, J. A. (2004). Gender differences in adolescent

academic achievement, interests, values and life-role expectations. High

Ability Studies, 15(1), 2542.

Mayberry, M., & Rees, M. N. (1997). Feminist pedagogy, interdisciplinary praxis,

and science education. NWSA Journal, 9(1), 5775.

Next Generation Science Standards: "All Standards, All Students - Appendix D

Diversity and Equity 6-14-13.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.nextgenscience.org/sites/default/files/Appendix%20D

%20Diversity%20and%20Equity%206-14-13.pdf

Read national science education standards at nap.edu. (n.d.). National

Academies Press. Retrieved from

https://www.nap.edu/read/4962/chapter/1

Seymour, N. (2007). The interests of full disclosure: agenda-setting and the

practical initiation of the feminist classroom. Feminist Teacher: A Journal

of the Practices, Theories, and Scholarship of Feminist Teaching, 17(3),

187203.

34
Sheu, H.-B., Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., Miller, M. J., Hennessy, K. D., & Duffy, R.

D. (2010). Testing the choice model of social cognitive career theory

across holland themes: a meta-analytic path analysis. Journal of

Vocational Behavior, 76(2), 252264.

Stotsky. (n.d.). Sandra stotsky, ed.d. | UARK department of education reform.

Retrieved November 27, 2016, from http://www.uaedreform.org/sandra-

stotsky/

United States Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census | San

Bernardino. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2016, from

http://xerxes.calstate.edu/sanbernardino/articles/results?

field=author&query=United+States+Department+of+Commerce.

+Bureau+of+the+Census

Young, W. (2013, August 1). Common Core State Standards: Nonfiction Versus

Fiction | National Association of Scholars. Retrieved November 27, 2016,

from

https://www.nas.org/articles/common_core_state_standards_nonfiction_ve

rsus_fiction

35