One opportunity I recognize to include more considerable attention in the curriculum to improve diversity, inclusion, and cultural awareness is to provide role models and diverse examples as it relates to girls in STEM. "Providing role models and diverse examples can be done in the classroom and outreach-education programs in which students have the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in a specific domain. Seeing successful role models who are similar to themselves helps students build confidence that they too can be successful in that domain" (Ruggs & Hebl, p.5). In Trinidad and Tobago, girls continue to be underrepresented in the STEM field. However, NIHERST (National Institue of Science and Technology) statistics show that "girls perform better than boys in STEM subjects in CSEC and CAPE examinations by huge margins" ( Gordon, 2012, para. 7). Georgia Popplewell famed media producer in Trinidad, and a career STEM student believes that "there is a lingering perception in T&T that these fields, especially technology and engineering, are more suited to men than women" (2012, para.7). Girls do not list STEM as a first-choice career option. From our readings in this course, we have noted that "adolescents internalize gender expectations as to what is "appropriate" male and female behavior in their gender ideology. Consequently, gender ideology can affect educational choices by influencing: (1) how adolescents evaluate their competence in certain subjects (competence beliefs), (2) what they find [essential] in a future occupation (occupational values) and (3) what school subject they prefer right now (subject preferences) (Vleuten, Maas & van der Lippe, 2016).
I believe this under-representation of girls pursuing STEM academics, is influenced and perpetuated by the following factors: 1. Societal stereotyping of girls and women of the role they should play in society and their unsuitability for STEM careers. 2. Insufficient modeling and mentorship of female STEM students by STEM career women. 3. Inadequate allocation of funding and promotion of girls and women in STEM projects. From my teaching experience, I know first hand that girls have a higher tendency to pursue studies in the area of the social sciences. My CSEC and CAPE Social Science classes were predominantly female. Such "persisting gender differences in educational choices, lead to different educational opportunities and labor market prospects" (Vleuten, Maas & van der Lippe, 2016) where girls opt to enter the labor market with lower wage-earning capacities, than males.
The prevalence and persistence of female under-representation in STEM in the Trinidad and Tobago education system have been discussed at the staff level at my school. We noted that girls pursuing STEM academics did equally well and, in many instances, better than their male counterparts. To encourage more girls to pursue STEM subjects, the Ministry of Education has begun partnering with STEM-based companies to promote and encourage girls in STEM. In 2014 "Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) and Caribbean Association of National Telecommunications Organizations (CANTO) hosted over 50 female students from San Fernando East Secondary School and San Fernando Central Secondary School at the TATT head office in Barataria for their Tech Savvy Girls event" (Espinet, 2019). Following in the footsteps of the Ministry of Education, we held consultations with the STEM industries that are located in the school district and now invite STEM career women to speak with students each year at our career day symposium. As a staff, we felt it was necessary to take this initiative to encourage girls to view STEM careers as a valid and viable option. In so doing, we hope to improve diversity, inclusion, and cultural awareness by providing role models and diverse examples for our students.
One of the areas we recognized we failed in was to provide diverse examples. We began to show students and girls, in particular, the link between the Trinidadian economy, which is heavily based on Oil and Gas Production and the quality of life they enjoy, from free health care for all citizens, to free universal education until the end of secondary schooling. By showing students how STEM is relevant to their daily lives and how large the industry is and its continued expansion with the growth of the internet and ICT resources and professions, female students are now beginning to enroll in STEM academics at an encouraging rate. Additionally, in 2014 with the revision of the CSEC and CAPE syllabi, female students are now able to pursue STEM at Advanced Level studies to earn an Associate's Degree from within the secondary schooling system. Earning a STEM Associate's Degree makes it easier for female accessibility to the higher levels of STEM learning. It gives them a foothold into the STEM industry as a career option, which makes them highly marketable and trained for the labor market. I have noted that traditionally, female students would compete with their male counterparts in a post-secondary education system that is biased towards males, making it difficult for them to enter engineering and other STEM programs at the tertiary level.
"Although ability is a strong predictor for what track adolescents choose, a growing body of research shows that ability does not entirely explain how boys and girls make their educational choices" (Ceci and Williams 2011; Hyde and Mertz 2009; Riegle-Crumb et al. 2012) as cited in (Vleuten, Maas & van der Lippe, 2016). When we give students the opportunities to choose their career paths, based on their ability and eliminate traditional and contemporary barriers to learning, we create a more inclusive and equitable world. We must use strategies to increase diversity, inclusion, and cultural awareness in the classroom and school-wide setting, to promote a positive school environment, which is learner-centered, diverse, and culturally aware. Free of stereotypes, exclusion, other barriers to learning.
References:
Espinet, R. (2019, May 14). Science is the new pink. Trinidad Newsday. Retrieved from https://newsday.co.tt/2019/05/14/science-is-the-new-pink/
Gordon, Z. (2012, October 15). Women in Science. Trinidad Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.tt/article-6.2.432802.9f20b19af1
Ruggs, E., & Hebl, M. (2012). Retrieved from https://www.engr.psu.edu/awe/ARPAbstracts/DiversityInclusion/ARP_Diversi...
Vleuten, M. Jaspers, E., Maas, I & T, van der Lippe, (2016). , Boys' and girls' educational choices in secondary education. The role of gender ideology Educational Studies, 42 (2). Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03055698.2016.1160821