Can A Woman In Technology Freshman Seminar Change Student Attitudes? A Pilot Study

Increasingly, companies and corporations are seeking to diversify those areas of their workforce that are predominantly male. Many of those positions are highly technical. However, despite abundant career opportunities, women are not preparing themselves for technology-related careers that would fill these positions. In 2002, a partnership was developed between the School of Technology at Purdue University and John Deere to create a retention vehicle for beginning women students in the School. In this paper, we will present an overview of the freshman seminar Women in Technology: Exploring the Possibilities, developed as the result of this partnership. We will discuss the results of a survey of students’ attitudes and beliefs about women in technology-related disciplines, administered before and after each semester of the seminar; compare the preliminary results from those surveys to the same survey administered to a control group; and offer recommendations for strategies aimed at retaining women students in technology and engineering. Introduction A variety of programs have succeeded in attracting more women into the fields of science, engineering, and technology over the past two decades. Many of these women are now in highly visible positions. However, although women constitute 46 percent of the labor force, less than a quarter of the scientists and engineers in this country are women. 1 A July 2001 report released by The National Council for Research on Women finds that much of the progress that women have made in these areas has stalled or eroded. The report underscores the increasing need for a scientifically and technologically literate workforce as we enter the new millennium. One year earlier, the Morella Commission, charged with developing strategies to attract more women and minorities into science, engineering, and technology, reported to the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives that significant barriers to attaining that goal are present from elementary school through college and beyond. 2 Women and girls will comprise half of the available science, engineering and technology talent pool. Therefore, it becomes imperative not only to attract but also to retain women and girls in these disciplines. As early as elementary and middle school, male/female attitudes toward science and technology begin to differ. This continues on into high school during the critical period when girls begin to develop an understanding of their socially defined gender roles. 3,4,5,6 They have some reservations about the seemingly male “computer culture” as they watch boys utilizing computers for violent computer games and what they see as technology for its own sake. 3 There is little software that appeals to them. Therefore, the tendency of boys to monopolize the computers is not being vigorously challenged. 7 As a result, girls do not take advantage of after school computer clubs or enroll in higher-level computer classes. 8 P ge 10290.1 Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright 2005, American Society for Engineering Education Contributing to girls’ unequal participation in science, mathematics, and computer education are tracking, negative judgments about their ability, and access to qualified teachers and resources. 9 By the time they are at the point where they must choose careers, girls have less experience with computers and perceive that they are behind, decreasing their likelihood of entering the fields of science, engineering, and/or technology. 7 There is a dearth of young women enrolled nationwide in secondary school computer science advanced placement classes. Their absence does not appear to stem from disinterest in computers but rather from applications that seem more attuned to the interests of boys. 3 Hence, as young women enter colleges and universities in the areas of science, engineering, and, they are disadvantaged by their lack of computer experience. 8 They also appear to have career goals that are not as well defined as those of their male counterparts, and often lack confidence in their abilities. 10, 11 They encounter college and university classes that are unfriendly to them, impeding their learning. The absence of women faculty and mentors both within the classroom and outside of it, few women students in their classes, and the lack of supportive networks can create a “chilly climate” for women in non-traditional fields. It is during this critical period that many of them transfer into other fields. 12, 5 , 13 Research suggests that female students are most concerned about isolation, the perceived irrelevance of theoretical preparatory courses, negative experiences in laboratory courses, classroom climate, and lack of role models. 14 Other studies have suggested that the different learning styles of women may influence their desire to enter engineering or technology fields. Additional data indicate that the problem is the image that engineering and technology are not disciplines whose primary goal is to help society, a frequently cited desire of female students. 15 This paper presents an overview of the freshman seminar Tech 101 Women in Technology: Exploring the Possibilities. We will discuss the results of a survey of students’ attitudes and beliefs about women in technology-related disciplines, administered before and after each semester of the seminar; compare the preliminary results from those surveys to the same survey administered to a control group; and offer recommendations for strategies aimed at retaining women students in technology and engineering.