I opened my mailbox today to find my new issue of The Technology Teacher, a publication put out through the International Technology Educators association (ITEA) of which I am member. A quick look at the cover stories gave me my topic for this week's blog. Unfortunately the article is not available to the public online but you may be able to borrow a copy. The article's title, Beyond Smash and Crash: Gender- Friendly Tech Ed leaves little question as to the basic content. The article reminds us that despite our best efforts girls are not entering STEM careers. In fact there is a downward trend in the number of Engineering Technology BA degrees awarded to female students; 9.9% compared to 13% in 1999.
What more can be done to encourage girls to help design our future technologies? One possible solution lies in the fact that girls tend to migrate to "caring disciplines." Engineering still carries the stigma of being math intensive, isolated from the world, job done by pocket protector wearing individuals. We need to show our female students that engineers make a difference in people's lives. Examples we can share include biomedical engineering's strides in prosthetics and how desalination technology could be the answer to the world's fresh water shortage.
We also need more role models. It may surprise you to hear but, female technology teachers surveyed all reported positive male role models be it a father, grandfather, or technology teacher. This gave the the females interviewed a less confined view of their own gender and opened the door to technology related careers. The interviewees additionally reported a lack of information from their school's guidance office. Either they never consulted guidance or they were not provided information about technology careers. Guidance officers could play a significant role in steering students toward engineering fields if they themselves had the opportunity to update and expand their own knowledge. If we don't start interesting girls in engineering as a career I fear we will not fulfill technology's potential for positive change.
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Allyson,
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain. I teach middle school but I am already seeing the resistance to engineering as early as sixth grade. Girls find technology to be male dominated and instead of breaking the mold they move on to subjects that are more accepting of them. Being a female in a male dominated field I know how the young girls feel because I often wanted to give up during my technology classes. Males often make the experience in the technology education classroom almost unbareable for female students. One of the best things technology teachers can do to make females more comfortable in their classroom is watch for the bullying that takes place in the classroom. If girls feel unwanted in the classroom that are less likely to want to stay in the field. Great article topic!
I liked reading your thoughts on this extremely difficult situation. I am very proud of my wife in being a tech ed teacher and I wish more girls were really involved in tech ed. At my school, I tend to have a lot of girls in certain classes and they are usually very uninterested in what we do. It is only when they begin to do things that are very hands on and planning oriented that they begin to step up and actually outperform the boys. This past 9 weeks I tried a project my wife does that involves the students creating restaurants. I had a high level of engagement and interaction with the girls while doing this, especially when they found out they could bring in food for everyone. Motivation is something we lack for girls in tech ed. The boys are all about building things, but we need to show the girls how their tendencies and behaviors benefit engineering and technology.
ReplyDeleteNow this is the most honest way i can say this ... Who cares if a job is filled by a man or woman? Why does it matter if my boss is a man or woman? I would love to see the day when no one cares because it does not matter. When I filled out college applications each one of them asked me what the color of my skin was ... i checked off "other"
ReplyDeleteMr. Distefano,
ReplyDeleteI am also a proponent of physical attributes including gender aren't an issue. The point I tried to make, and perhaps did not make clear, is we're losing out on a lot of talent as many young women don't explore engineering as a career. Like it or not there are many who don't view building bridges as a women's job. I see the difference in my class daily and am looking for ways to make young women open their minds to all the oppotunities available. Just to add a bit of humor, what is "other" anyway? I don't check off anything at all.