Report Roundup
Girls and STEM
"My Fair Physicist?: Feminine Math and Science Role Models Demotivate Young Girls"
The push to promote more "feminine" role models for the science, technology, engineering, and math fields may backfire with middle school girls, says a new study published in Social Psychological and Personality Science.
University of Michigan psychology researchers conducted a series of experiments in which 6th and 7th grade girls read articles about three successful female university students. In some cases, the hypothetical students were overtly "girly," wearing pink clothes and makeup, for instance; in others, they wore dark clothes and glasses.
The researchers found girls who read about the overtly female role models reported lower interest and perceived ability and future expectations in math, and were less interested in taking math classes later on than girls who read about the other role models.
Vol. 31, Issue 32, Page 5
Access selected articles, e-newsletters and more!
Viewed
Emailed
Recommended
Commented
Sponsored Whitepapers
• Best Practices in Information Management, Reporting and Analytics for Education
- Chief Innovation Officer
- The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®), Washington, DC
- Train Brilliant Math Students
- Art of Problem Solving, San Diego, CA
- Common Core Literacy Assessment Developer - Part Time
- The Equity Project (TEP) Charter School, New York, NY
- Principal - Chicago Metro Area West
- The Menta Group, Hillside, IL
- Chief Financial Officer
- Hernando County School Board, Brooksville, FL



We encourage lively debate, but please be respectful of others. Profanity and personal attacks are prohibited. By commenting, you are agreeing to abide by our user agreement.
All comments are public.