Impact of Specialized Science High Schools on Talented Girls and First-Generation College Students

• In Event: Emerging Issues and Challenges in Contemporary Science Education

Abstract

Historically, selective science high schools enrolled far more boys than girls. Today enrollment is evenly balanced by gender. Approximately 20% of those who currently attend specialized science high schools are the children of parents who did not enter or complete college. Do female participants and first college completers exhibit the same profile of achievement as their specialized high school peers? In order to answer these questions, the researchers surveyed 2004-2007 graduates of 20 specialized high schools to identify contributing factors that sustain early interests in science through completion of a baccalaureate degree in a STEM discipline.

Authors

• Rena F. Subotnik, American Psychological Association

• Robert H. Tai, University of Virginia

• John Taylor Almarode, James Madison University

• Edward Crowe, The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation