Engaging girls in STEM careers

Rust, T. (2014). Engaging girls in STEM careers. In T. Spuck & L. Jenkins (eds), Einstein Fellows: Best practices in STEM education (pp. 49-80). New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.

Read more here

Terrie Rust, a STEM educator working in the Peoria Unified School District in Arizona, writes about her experiences advising a mentorship program lead by high school aged girls for middle school aged girls to encourage higher enrollment in advanced mathematics, science, and technology courses. Simply encouraging girls to enroll in advanced STEM courses is not enough to counteract other forces that decrease girls’ interest in STEM fields. The most critical time for girls to develop an interest in STEM related fields is during middle school, especially for technology and engineering fields. Important factors that can increase the likelihood that girls will pursue advanced science coursework include the presence of female role models and specific mentorship. It is important for more girls to develop and interest in and pursue science careers because mixed gender teams have been shown to be more innovative than teams consisting only of men. Currently, half of the jobs held by workers in America are held by women, yet only a quarter of jobs in STEM fields are held by women. The numbers are even lower for engineering and technology fields. Women who do pursue STEM related degrees are more likely to work in health care and education, and less likely to pursue other STEM careers. Part of the reason for this is that girls are more likely to pursue STEM related fields if they are viewed from a humanitarian perspective.

The program that was implemented in Peoria Unifies School district was initiated by a student frustrated by the fact that she was the only girl enrolled in her computer science class. The goal of the program, GET (Girls Exploring Technology), was to have high school aged girls reach out to younger girls to help them explore STEM fields and career possibilities. The first phase of the program was a large event that provided participating girls introductory computer workshops, tours of IT facilities at the local community college, and first-hand accounts of how to pursue STEM related career paths. The second phase of the program occurred over the school year and included field trips and group meetings that exposed girls to information on new STEM concepts and STEM career paths. The final phase consisted of a large ceremony, during which the students were able to present their accomplishments to classmates, teachers, and parents. The program continued for several years and successfully improved enrollment in advanced STEM coursework once the students reached high school.