3-066 - Early Gender Gaps in STEM Learning and Motivation: Causes, Consequences, and Intervention

Session Type: Conversation Roundtable

Integrative Statement

This roundtable, moderated by Dr. Allison Master, will discuss the pressing gender gaps in early science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning and motivation. From an early age, girls report lower interest and self-efficacy in math and science than boys. They also must contend with stereotypes that boys are better at STEM. By college, less than 20% of the graduates of many STEM fields are female, especially in technological fields like computer science and engineering. This disparity means that many young women are missing out on opportunities to contribute to and benefit from STEM education and careers. How early do these gender gaps in STEM develop? Why do they persist over time? What intrapersonal and interpersonal factors create and reinforce gender differences in STEM motivation and self-concepts? How malleable are these factors? What can developmental science teach us about how to prevent and reduce such gender gaps? Panelists will discuss some of the developmental sources (during preschool and elementary school) of this gap in STEM participation, including (a) environmental impacts on early math and spatial skills (such as parents and teachers), (b) gender stereotypes and self-concepts relevant to STEM, and (c) maladaptive beliefs that contribute to disparities in STEM. Panelists will also discuss how to best address these gender gaps, including how education could be used to promote the malleability of STEM skills. We will also discuss exciting directions for future research, and what types of interventions hold the most promise to promote STEM motivation and learning in all students.

Sub Unit

• Education, Schooling

Moderator

• Allison Master, University of Washington

Panelists

• Andrei Cimpian, New York University

• Dario Cvencek, University of Washington

• Susan Levine, University of Chicago

• David Uttal, Northwestern University