Research Study

The article I found to link to our research topic can be found by clicking here. The article is titled, "Tracking the Reasons Many Girls Avoid Science and Math". Research gathered by a group of researchers at the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin found that a girls desire to pursue Math and Science has less to do with the initial interest they have in those subjects, and more to do with the self-confidence that is instilled by parents and teachers at a young age. One of the researchers, Nadya Fouad, has done many studies to determine what steers girls toward or away from these subjects. She found that the relationship between interest and confidence is closely related. Based on that research, she along with other researchers believe it is critical for parents and teachers to instill confidence in young girls early on in their education in both Math and Science. She summarizes her study by stating, "Ultimately, it's perception, more than reality, that affects the person's academic and career choices."

I believe the study done was a correlation study that explored the relationship between girl's interest in the subject areas of Math and Science and barriers that steer their interest away. The study was done primarily through the form of observation. A couple of the problems with the study that were uncovered included:

- lumping the subjects of Math and Science together - this was a problem because they discovered that for the 2 different subjects the supports and barriers could differ.

- the differences that exist at each developmental level and the differences between genders - to make the results more conclusive, they would need to set up interventions for each subgroup.

The study was conclusive in pointing out the top support for middle and high school students of both genders, was parental support and expectations. For younger girls the study also focused on engaging teachers and positive experiences with those teachers. The study pointed out that The main barrier for all students was test anxiety and subject difficulty.

University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee (2008, September 8). Tracking The Reasons Many Girls Avoid Science And Math. ScienceDaily. Accessed September 9, 2008 [http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080905153807.htm]