ERIC Number: ED591698
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Apr-27
Pages: 6
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-
EISSN: N/A
Fulfilling the Promise of Equal Opportunity for Women in Physics, Math, and Computer Science
Johnson, Angela
AERA Online Paper Repository, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (San Antonio, TX, Apr 27-May 1, 2017)
Women are under-represented in physics, math and computer science. Intersectional analyses show why: Because the norms of typical departments fit the cultural skills of affluent White male students. This project, an ethnography of a liberal arts college with lots of women in these majors, is grounded in the activist roots of intersectionality. The cultural norms of these departments are very different from what other ethnographers of university STEM have found. They include: work hard and practice; work together; be friendly. Professors actively establish these norms and also take feminist, anti-racist public stances. The author uses intersectionality not only to show why these departments are good places for women but to point to actions STEM faculty can take.
Descriptors: Equal Education, Access to Education, Females, African American Students, Hispanic American Students, Physics, College Mathematics, Computer Science Education, STEM Education, Bachelors Degrees, Cultural Differences, Whites, Gender Differences, Advantaged, Liberal Arts, Graduation Rate, Departments, Majors (Students), Teacher Role, Social Action, Disproportionate Representation, Social Attitudes, School Culture, Social Justice, Feminism
AERA Online Paper Repository. Available from: American Educational Research Association. 1430 K Street NW Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20005. Tel: 202-238-3200; Fax: 202-238-3250; e-mail: subscriptions@aera.net; Web site: http://www.aera.net
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A