"Dear Future Woman of STEM": Letters of Advice from Women in STEM

Autor/inn/en	Freedman, Gili; Green, Melanie C.; Kussman, Mia; Drusano, Mason; Moore, Melissa M.
Titel	"Dear Future Woman of STEM": Letters of Advice from Women in STEM
Quelle	In: International Journal of STEM Education, 10 (2023), Artikel 20 (16 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Freedman, Gili)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
DOI	10.1186/s40594-023-00411-0
Schlagwörter	Undergraduate Students; Females; STEM Education; Student Experience; Student Attitudes; Peer Relationship; Academic Persistence; Sharing Behavior; Opinions; Communication (Thought Transfer) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Weibliches Geschlecht; STEM; Studienerfahrung; Schülerverhalten; Peer-Beziehungen; Lehrmeinung; Communication; thought; Kommunikation; Gedanke
Abstract	Background: Although a large body of research has identified challenges faced by women in STEM fields and strategies to improve the experience for women in STEM, little of this research has examined which strategies undergraduate women would recommend to their peers. In the current study, undergraduate women in STEM fields (N = 89) wrote letters to younger women in STEM about their experiences. The participants were recruited from a small public liberal arts college and a large public research institution in the United States. Participants were juniors and seniors majoring in engineering, mathematics, computer science, physics, biological or biomedical sciences, and chemistry. Results: Using thematic analysis, we identified seven types of advice. The participants shared advice about improving academically, forming communities, finding family support, and seeking out women role models. They also provided general words of encouragement and reassured women that everyone struggles, and failure is not indicative of their potential. In some cases, the letters were consistent with themes from prior research; however, other influences that have been studied by quantitative research were not prominent in women's own advice to their fellow students. For example, although the letters focused on communal themes such as building community, they did not focus on the communal goal of helping others through their careers. Additionally, they highlighted the role of family, which has been relatively neglected in prior work. Conclusions: The present research highlights which empirically supported theories about retention and success in STEM are reflected in students' advice to others. These letters also provide insight into which obstacles and solutions were most salient for women students looking back on their undergraduate STEM careers. The women's letters provide a rich understanding of how women navigate STEM fields and what they would tell future students about persisting in those fields. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01