An Analysis of Public Posts About Girls and Women in STEM on Facebook

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Algorithms of Teaching, Learning, and Oppression: New Research on Social Media

Abstract

This goal of this study was to examine possible changes in public discourse about girls and women in the fields of science, technology, mathematics, and engineering (STEM) over the past decade on Facebook. A total of 65,121 related public posts were identified on Facebook. Our findings showed that this issue received more and more attention and discussion with time passing by. Social communities and non-profit organizations were the main contributors to the public discourse on the issue. Although “science,” “engineering,” and “technology” frequently showed up in public posts every year, “math” was not a popular word. The most popular posts for the past decade mainly focused on recognizing and honoring achievement in STEM by girls and women.

Authors

• Shonn Sheng-Lun Cheng, Sam Houston State University

• Yu-Ping Hsu, Western Illinois University

• Jessica Renee Collier, Sam Houston State University