A New Challenge for Teachers:

Encouraging Girls in Science, Math, and Information Technology

By Valerie Giles

Excerpt from original article

One key challenge educators face is the importance of encouraging girls to excel in math, science, and computer science studies. As technology continues to drive the world of business, it is logical to assume that those challenged with or generally disinterested in science and math will be left behind. In fact, that's exactly what's happening.

Future economic prosperity and global competition depends on both scientific progress and adaptability in the fields of science, technology, and engineering. As our societies shift away from a resource-intensive focus to a knowledge-intensive base, it is critical for all of us to develop the knowledge and skills needed to contribute to the new economic structure. Knowledge of math and science has now become essential for those pursuing a prestigious and well-paid profession in our new technologically advanced workforce.

In the United States, while women make up approximately 50% of the general work force, they only represent 9% of workers in the science and engineering communities. With such a low percentage of female interest in information technology (IT), the U.S. government is expecting increased worker shortages in this industry throughout the first decade of the 21st century.

The core workers in the IT industry are computer engineers, systems analysts, programmers, computer scientists, database administrators, computer support personnel and all other computer scientists. Students who succeed in secondary and undergraduate math and computer science studies are obvious candidates to pursue these careers. Unfortunately, the number of students graduating from computer information sciences and technology programs, according to growth projections by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is not sufficient to sustain the IT industry’s growth. The studies also establish that the shortage of women participating in computer science will have a profoundly negative effect on the industry.

These researchers believe that the low representation of women in computer science at the undergraduate level is inherited from the secondary school level, where girls do not participate as much as boys in computer science courses and related activities. Although girls are often well represented in the elementary computing classes, they shy away from advanced courses in mathematics and technology. A great deal of data has been collected to study this discrepancy.

A study by the National Assessment of Education Progress discovered that girls score below the national mean on all science achievement items and express negatives attitudes towards science. The study acknowledged that societal, education, and personal factors all contribute to this finding. However, this study also stressed that differences within the science classroom may be one of the biggest contributing factors.

So what factors are discouraging girls from excelling in math, science, and computer science studies in high school? Research has shown a number of different issues that need to be addressed. They believe that girls are not presented with adequate information about science-related career opportunities and their prerequisites. Research has also indicated that high school counselors often do not encourage girls to take advanced courses in math and science. Academic texts, the media, and many adults are also blameworthy as they continue to project sex-stereotyped images of science and scientists as males.  A lack of development of spatial ability skills may also be an issue. However, these skills can be fostered in shop and mechanical drawing classes. Girls also have fewer experiences with science activities and equipment, which are often stereotyped as being masculine.