For generations, the American education system has emphasized and evangelized the premise of gender equality for schoolchildren of all ages. Unfortunately, however, the words do not always match the reality on the ground, particularly when it comes to girls and STEM education. And that means that female students are paying the price, not only when they are in school but also when they reach adulthood.
And yet, as STEM comes increasingly to dominate the world of work, it is more important than ever before for educators to support girls in pursuing STEM Careers. But how can this be done?
The Scope of the Problem
It’s the responsibility of educators to prepare their students to succeed in the world. Their job is to harness the power of education to open up a world of opportunity for their learners, no matter who they are, where they come from, or what their gender may be.
And yet, all too often, teachers are failing in their responsibility to prepare female students to thrive in the technological age. Studies show, for example, that female students seem to experience a precipitous decline in their interest in STEM fields between middle school and high school.
This sharp shift away from STEM sometime in the middle grades may well account for the often substantial under-representation of women in mathematics, the applied sciences, and technology careers. Recent data indicate, for instance, that while women account for over 40% of bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics, at the doctoral level, that number drops to less than 30%. Perhaps even more troubling, the number of women with mathematics PhDs has substantially declined since the late 1990s.
And what this means is that a future is being built in which gender-based economic gaps not only persist but are widening, as girls are increasingly shut out from the most lucrative and prolific careers of tomorrow.
Looking for Role Models
Though the situation may, indeed, appear bleak, there is hope if educators make proactive and strategic moves to support girls in pursuing STEM education and future careers.
Perhaps the first and most important step is to ensure that girls are provided with ample role models of women succeeding in these fields. For instance, despite the dire statistic regarding women in mathematics today, the history of mathematics is replete with female pioneers.
Incorporating the biographies of the great female figures in math, science, and technology into your curriculum provides female students with the exemplars they need to inspire their own careers in STEM.
But it’s probably not going to be sufficient to look to history alone. Students will also likely need engagement with practitioners in the field, learning from the experiences of women in STEM directly from those who’ve lived them. This can be the ideal way to provide female students with the models and mentors they need to persist through the inevitable challenges they will face.
Get Creative
As any educator knows, STEM, by its very nature, requires a unique pedagogical approach. STEM curricula typically call for an inquiry and problem-based approach to learning.
And that means that educators will need to get creative in devising active learning strategies that will engage female students. To facilitate the process, teachers might hold a brainstorming session with fellow educators or even with students. Brainstorming sessions will call on teachers, for example, to consider what kinds of tasks, topics, technology, or questions will be most engaging and meaningful for their female learners.
An effective strategy might involve working with students to identify a problem they have noted at school, at home, or in their communities. For instance, a student may have a concern about the well-being of homeless animals during the cold winter months.
From this point, educators might work with their student to devise an active learning, inquiry-based project that requires the student to use basic engineering principles and to study the fundamentals of thermodynamics to create warming stations for homeless animals when electricity isn’t available.
Such a creative, individualized curriculum provides girls both with the encouragement and the real-life experience they need to foster their engagement and enthusiasm. With every project, even the failed projects that can so effectively teach resilience and creative problem-solving, girls gain a bit more momentum, confidence, and competence in the STEM fields. And this is essential to seeing them through, from high school to post-secondary studies, and beyond.
The Takeaway
STEM careers are among the most lucrative and abundant in the world of work, and that trend is only expected to increase as technology continues to advance and dominate. Unfortunately, the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields only threatens to further entrench and widen the gender pay gap. This can be overcome, however, if educators pursue a proactive strategy for encouraging female students to pursue STEM studies in preparation for a career in science or technology. This includes providing girls with ample role models, endless encouragement, and vast opportunities to engage in STEM in real-world scenarios using problem-based learning.
