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Sexism in the workplace and education
Eassay on women in science
Sexism in the workplace and education
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Recommended: Sexism in the workplace and education
The sexism-laden stereotype that Science is a “male” field in which men are better than women has existed since the dawn of time. Women used to be prohibited to even enter a university building, let alone to be involved in academic activities . Nowadays, however, men and women are ensured fairly equal chances to pursue career and education they desire. The myth that girls are innately worse in Science has been long since debunked, and gender differences and segregation have gradually disappeared from many academic setting, especially in developed parts of the world.
However, this does not seem to go hand in hand with how women are currently being portrayed in Science. Despite many efforts done to balance the scale, young women are generally very underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields of study and labor markets. UNESCO’s Institute for Statistic (2012), for instance, reported that the representation of women in Science research is less than 50% in nearly all regional, with the highest being in Latin America and The Caribbean where females comprise 45,2% of the researchers. Not to mention that since the Nobel Prize was established in 1901, from 853 Nobel laureates, only 44 of them are female. With women being half of the world’s population, this fact suggests a gap that is interesting to be investigated.
An even more interesting finding was reported in Vansteenkiste, Soenens, Sierens, Luyckx, & Lens (2009) about a correlation between autonomous motivation and gender. They claimed that female students tend to show ‘a more adaptive academic pattern of functioning’; they are less likely to procrastinate and cheat, are more efficient in using time and environment, and tend to obtain higher grades t...
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...pational choices. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18, 585-609.
Osborne, J., Simon, S., & Collins, S. (2003). Attitudes towards science: a review of the literature and its implications. International Journal of Science Education, 25(9), 1049-1079.
San Roman, A.G & Goiricilaya, S. 2012. “Gender Gap in PISA Test Scores: The Impact of Social Norms and The Mother’s Transmission of Role Attitudes.” IZA Discussion paper no. 6338, February 2012.
Schreiner, C., & Sjøberg, S. (2007). Science education and youth's identity construction - two incompatible projects? In: D. Corrigan, J. Dillon, and R. F. Gunstone (eds.). The Re-Emergence of Values in Science Education (pp. 231-248). Rotterdam, Sense.
Vansteenkiste, M, et al. (2009). Motivational Profiles From a Self-Determination Perspective: The quality of motivation matters. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 671-688.
If women lack intelligence and cannot be a scientist, then what should they be? If they can’t act intelligent, then how should they act? Woman should stick to their society roles and stay away from thinking the way a male is expected to think. A woman thinking scientifically is considered to be thinking like a man (Keller 77). Keller’s statement explains that science is considered to be a male subject. It is not appropriate for females to think scientifically. Women then begin to get treated differently because they are not meeting society’s
General Science is a study involving biology, chemistry, physics and environmental sciences. Students from Year 7 to Year 10 are introduced to these various disciplines to gain general knowledge about science and can later develop into deeper concepts. Science is not just fat laboratory coats, Einstein’s equations, mixing chemicals, massive space shuttles, or peeking through microscopes, but involves critical thinking, analysing data and applying understandings of the natural world to solve real problems. Science is an approach to learning what made this world and how things worked decades ago, how they work today, and how they are expected to work in forthcoming years. Some of the social justice issues hidden behind science can have major consequences.
The United Kingdom did a survey in 2003 where the objective was to identify gender issues in the academic performances of boys and girls during classroom laboratories. This study was done on adolescent children that explored the idea of what would be said about girls and boys who stated that they did or did not like science. The conclusion was predicted with the group of imaginary girls and boys. That is participants were to mark traits of girls and boys in their class that they did not know. Girls who liked science were found less feminine than girls who disliked science (Breakwell, Glynis; Robertson, Toby. 449). Oddly enough girls and boys who scored themselves did not give ratings that girls that liked science were considered less feminine. However, boys rated boys who disliked science more feminine. It appears that boys are pres...
The 17th and 18th centuries saw the embryonic stage of women’s quest for intellectual and social parity with men. The evolution of women’s fight for equal opportunities was bogged down by a long history of stereotyping and condescension. Women were weaker physically, bore children and nurtured them. The economics and culture of Europe at this time was strongly influenced by religion and resulted in prejudice against women. The dominating religions of Europe in the 1600’s and 1700’s (Catholicism and Protestantism), citing the bible, reinforced women’s roles as mother’s, wives, and homemakers. Women were considered the weaker sex both physically and mentally. Men and most women assumed that because women gave birth and produced milk for their infants, God intended that their place was in the home. Men’s egos, as well, did not allow for women to compete with them. Males thought their place was to rule, fight wars, provide income, teach and be the head of his family. Women were not accepted in academics, politics, church leadership, business, or the military. Despite these prejudices, women saw an opportunity in the sciences. As a discipline based on observations and deductive reasoning it did not necessarily require a comprehensive academic background. Since most women were deprived of the more advanced education that men received, it was the perfect field for them to begin their pursuit of equality. As a result, a growing number of women actively participated in scientific research in chemistry, astronomy, biology, botany, medicine, and entomology.
Kahle, J., and Lakes, M. (1983). The Myth of Equality in Science Classrooms. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 20, 131-140.
“Gender disparity” refers to the differences between the percentages of men and women obtaining college degrees. Hulbert coveys the different ways in which young boys and girls process information. Women tend to be better at reading, writing, and verbal skills, while men tend to better at math and sciences. By sixth grade, young boys tend to lose interest in literature and are often struggling in subjects such as English and reading, while young girls are often losing interest in math and science by sixth grade. Boys perform consistently below girls on tests of reading and verbal skills. By high school, girls tend to score in the middle or average; however, boys tend to score either really well or rather poorly.
Promoting gender equity in STEM courses in high school is a crucial step in the direction of postsecondary achievement in related careers. But all too often, students Students are often afraid to try something new and of failing in front of others. Students who chronically under-perform in math and science, thinking they are not competent to excel in these subjects, are at risk of giving up.
Many researches have been conducted to investigate what motivates students for better academic performance and whether it has a correlation with achievement motivation.
Baker, D. (1996). A female friendly science classroom. Research Matters to the Science Teacher. 9602.
“Scientists Not Immune from Gender Bias, Yale Study Shows.” Yale News. Yale University, 24 Sept. 2012. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.
Being motivated is not just about a good end result, but it is about acquiring an ingrained mindset that empowers and directs one’s behavior. (Tan, OS, Parsons, R. D., Hinson, S. L., & Sardo-Brown, D., 2011) Mary Doe can clearly be seen to be unmotivated in learning as seen from her low expectations of success. She is seen to have a low gauge of her ability, which leads to her low confidence, and lowered motivation towards her academics. We will explore the possible causes, as well as solutions to aid the improvement of her motivation in learning.
In many cases, women’s achievements are measured according to male oriented standards. I would like to argue with a more diverse approach to this cause. If humanity is comprised of both men and women, and we are equally dependent on each other for humanity’s survival, why are men and women not viewed as equals? These old attitudes are drilled into us from birth. If boys were taught mutual respect as they grew up, gender equality becomes a natural way of life. In the same way girls would need to be taught to set high goals; that they can reach as high as humanly possible. Unfortunately, typically male values and traditions have, over time, shaped the culture in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) fields. This has created, in many ways, a hostile learning and working environment for women. From time immemorial, women have been regarde...
Public understanding of science is considered to be one of the most important issues facing educators in today’s technological world. It is see...
Pintrich, P. R. (2004). A conceptual framework for assessing motivation and self-regulated learning in college students. Educational Psychology Review, 16(4), 385-407.
One contributing factor towards student success is student motivation. Motivation is reading unassigned books out of class that relate to the class subject matter, just to expand his or her knowledge. The need or want type of actions a persons’ mentality is, to reach a personal goal or objective of some sort. People’s motivational purpose in school can range from, higher earning potential, more job stability, greater benefits, and even just to gain more knowledge. In a YouTube video entitled “The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us” by Dan Pink, he suggests that three elements: purpose, mastery, and autonomy play a part towards true motivation. Autonomy is ones self-drive, while