The Effects of Men Peer Behavior on Women’s Learning in Engineering Classrooms

• In Event: Oppression and Agency: Marginalized Students Navigating Higher Education

Abstract

Although efforts have been made to promote the enrollment and retention of underrepresented students in STEM, these efforts have not made enough progress. Women’s participation in STEM fields continues to be problematic due to STEM disciplinary culture that creates hostile environments for underrepresented students. Data for this study comes from a broader mixed method study examining instructional practices and their effects on women in engineering courses. Women from two chemical engineering courses (offered synchronously online due to the COVID-19 pandemic) participated in the study. Results indicated that men’s negative behaviors towards women in engineering classrooms caused women to experience lower self-confidence (self-efficacy) and lower assessment of performance and skills (self-appraisal) than their men peers, thus negatively affecting women’s learning.

Author

• Selyna Perez Beverly, Eastern Michigan University