New STEM Studies Validate The Path for Girls in Technology

New STEM Studies Validate The Path for Girls in Technology
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

I have been overwhelmed by everyone’s response to the concept of The Path. This idea of charting the possible paths for girls from middle school through to and far into a career in technology seems to have touched a nerve. The responses have been numerous and positive. I hope to use your suggestions and more of my own research to better “map” out The Path as it exists today.

In the weeks since my first post on The Path, two new studies originally published in April have come to my attention. Both provide greater insight into The Path and should help us all as we think about when and how to support girls along their journey to becoming proficient technologists with the capacity to deliver and expand economic empowerment for other women.

The first is from Washington’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (I-LAB), and makes the case that we should begin thinking about technology exposure and instruction for girls as young as six. In their experiments, the researchers tested boys’ and girls’ confidence in their technology capabilities as well as their perception of women as technologists.

Through their use of active and control groups (described in more detail here), it is no surprise that they showed girls and boys at this age inherently viewed technology as a more masculine pursuit. However, by first exposing girls to technology - such as simple play with a robot - the researchers were able to change the girls perception of their own technology ability, to the point where they were as confident as boys in their skills.

This is a very important study for two reasons. First, it means we should think about extending The Path downward to reach girls in lower school. Unfortunately, there are even fewer resources outside of standard school programming at this age. But the second key takeaway from the study is that these do not have to be intensive programs. Simply by exposing girls to technology and the rudimentary concepts at this age, we can dramatically alter their confidence levels and the resulting perception of their skills as a technologist.

The next study was conducted by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and STEM Next. The study’s dry title belies the importance of its findings: AfterSchool & STEM: System Building Evaluation 2016. The researchers’ evaluation proved the importance of programs outside of the normal school day to create more STEM learning opportunities for more kids. Perhaps more significantly, it demonstrated the positive gains associated with these programs and the participants’ increased understanding of STEM subject matter and for what a career in STEM means.

The study also highlighted the disparity of hours children in wealthy households experience in enrichment programs versus those children in middle to low income households. As we try and encourage and grow a diverse workforce, having more opportunities for more children to experience free or low cost afterschool STEM programs is key.

Obviously, this documented need for afterschool programs helps validate our mission, approach and curricula at TechGirlz. But the study also helps show the need for how we grow The Path. It’s not enough simply to connect the dots and chart a single path from (possibly) lower school through to mid-career. Instead, we must build out more robust offerings emphasizing extracurricular options across income levels to create a many-fingered path through these phases in order to make it attainable for all girls.

Overall, I am excited to see more academic research become public that help us understand why formalizing the roadmap - or The Path - is so critical. Having a common language and mission, backed by research, available to the groups and organizations, schools and parents that form a girl’s ecosystem will make it easier for us all to succeed in helping our girls follow The Path.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot