Bill Ivey is a teacher and middle school dean at Stoneleigh-Burnham, an all-girls independent school in Greenfield, Massachusetts, where STEM education is becoming a priority.

In an August post at his school’s View from the Nest blog, Bill noted that “girls schools have strong track records increasing the self-confidence of their alumnae in a number of ways – for one, a graduate of a girls school is three times more likely to enter the field of engineering. The potential for this initiative is enormous.”

Bill, who has a long association with MiddleWeb dating back to his leadership in our online community during the early 2000s, is a wise and passionate advocate for gender equity and the opportunity for all girls to learn everything and do everything they want to do. We’ve invited him to guest post here at STEM Imagineering, with SI lead blogger Anne Jolly offering comments.  – John Norton, MiddleWeb co-editor

by Bill Ivey

Not long ago, I stayed overnight with my brother and his family so I wouldn’t have to get quite so early a start to attend a Boston conference at Simmons College. The conference, entitled “Dreaming Big: What’s Gender Got to Do With It?”, would present a study on middle schoolers and career aspirations and provide opportunities to discuss implications and ideas for follow-up.

My brother and sister-in-law enjoy the TV program “Modern Family” (as do I), and after we caught up on our lives for a bit, we settled in to watch the evening’s episode. In retrospect, it turned out to be a good warm-up for the conference to come. The show, progressive as it is in some ways, does in other ways reflect the kind of stereotyping about work that is too often seen in the media. One example: neither of the two moms in the show have a salaried job.

Luckily for middle school girls, the media is only the third strongest influence on their career aspirations. As you might expect, schools and parents are the two most dominant influences. And as you might also expect, single-gender environments (like Stoneleigh-Burnham, where I’ve worked for the past 12 years) can have a positive effect.

The study being presented used Girls Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts as a proxy for girl-centered organizations, and looked at the views, opinions, and attitudes of 1200 middle schoolers, including 487 Girl Scouts, 299 girls who were not in the organization, and 414 boys. (Here’s a press release about the study.)

What girls say about STEM and careers

The study (here is a summary) painted a picture of middle school girls who, in envisioning their lives as adults, are confident and ambitious, want to enjoy what they do, desire financial security, and value time with family friends. It also showed that girls are more likely than boys to stop work and care for children. They are also more relationship focused and more wiling to consider jobs historically dominated by women. Such jobs (for example, teaching) continue to be less attractive generally.

All the kids believed boys had more career options than girls, and three-quarters of the boys and over half the girls believed boys were better at some jobs than girls. Interestingly, when girls were asked to consider what they would do if they were boys, they were much more likely to choose STEM careers or athletics. We also learned that girls who express an interest in STEM by eighth grade are two to three times more likely to choose that career direction that those who do not.

Along with these more general findings, the study also showed a measurable, positive effect from girl-centered organizations. They can help girls resist the pressures of the culture in which they live and remain true to themselves and what they want out of life. As one of my 8th grade advisees said the other day, “I know what I learned last year. I learned to speak up and to speak with conviction.”

The push-back culture

Of course, as long as our culture continues to push back against confident, ambitious girls, our work will not be done. For one thing, those girls who do not have the benefit of the support of girls schools and girl-centered organizations will continue to eclipse themselves to a greater degree than their more fortunate sisters.

But even girls who have that additional support have to deal with the notion that significant parts of society may not want them to be all that they can be, and that fact does continue to shape their lives. And realistically, society also puts boys in little boxes that do not necessarily fit them. So really, as we teach girls – and indeed all children – to empower themselves in the face of resistance, we also need to work together to eliminate that resistance.

“Not in my lifetime”

During a morning session at the conference, noted author and speaker Rachel Simmons was asked, essentially, if she could envision a future where true gender equity will have been achieved. “Not in my lifetime,” she responded.

Her words hung in the air. And maybe she is right. But if during our lifetimes we have not, to paraphrase arts activist Peter Sellars, closed the gap between dream and reality, we will not have done our job. Encouraging STEM studies in the adolescent years, for girls as well as boys, is one important place we can begin to do more. But how?

Some things we can do

There are a number of strategies that can help build and maintain interest in STEM among middle school girls. One is involving them in STEM in an all-girls environment, whether at school or in a girl-centered organization or after-school club. Though the effects of mentoring are perhaps less strong than originally thought, providing role models of older girls and women can help.

Most important, as research currently suggests, is providing the example of a positive attitude towards math and science, especially among women, and extra-especially as the mother of a daughter. By avoiding phrases like “Math is hard” and “I can’t do physical science stuff” and focusing instead on “Let’s figure out how to do this,” girls can come to internalize a growth-oriented model toward STEM in particular and learning in general.

By learning this way, girls are more likely to come to believe in the value of hard work and how that can pay off, and are less inclined to think that they are born good or bad (more likely bad, being a girl) at math and science. Hands-on projects can further help, and discovery learning.

What ideas do you have about increasing the interest of adolescent girls in STEM subjects?

by Anne Jolly

Dear Becky,

I hope you are sitting in your engineering office reading this. Remember when we were in college together in the Dark Ages? You were the only girl in the school of engineering. And you would not give in to well-intentioned advice from colleagues and professors that you needed to find a different profession if you wanted to get a job.

You persevered and graduated with a degree in metallurgical engineering – not an accomplishment generally celebrated in those days. Then you began your round of job interviews. I’ll never forget the responses you got from private industry. One company told you that you were the most qualified candidate who applied, but they were not going hire you. The reason? They didn’t have women’s restrooms. (Obviously, in those days getting women into math, science, and technical fields wasn’t just about educating the girls; it was about educating the guys.)

My pioneering friend, we’ve lost touch over the years. You know now that women are accepted and encouraged in engineering, as well as other STEM-related fields. And I just want you to know that the times – they are still a changing, and so are the challenges. Keep reading.

Changing Times

Not surprisingly, today’s girls are overwhelmingly interested in STEM. They are intrigued by solving puzzles and problems and understanding how things work. These girls are ready for new and innovative STEM careers. They’re ready to tackle 21^st century challenges and make a difference in the world. Read what today’s girls say about STEM.

Here’s the rub. A new study by the Girl Scout Research Institute points out that girls start losing interest in math and science during middle school. Armed with that knowledge, plus additional information from the Girl Scout Research study, I’m posting a MiddleWeb Alert!

MiddleWeb Alert: Six Things Teachers Can Do to Support STEM Girl Power!

1. Provide our girls with engaging STEM work.  According to a middle school girl interviewed by the Girl Scout researchers, she had some “pretty fun” science activities in elementary school. But when she entered 6^th grade . . . “We just had to do book work and questions. Science wasn’t my favorite anymore.” How about offering STEM work to specifically involve girls in acting as architects, designers, and engineers? You might get some ideas from sites like this.

2. Empower our girls to believe in themselves. STEM girls have higher confidence in their academic abilities than girls not interested in STEM subjects. Girls interested in STEM fields believe that they are smart, and firmly believe that they can do anything boys can do. Teachers can intentionally and continually reinforce that belief. This inspiring video Girls in STEM spotlights some extraordinary young role models and their exciting STEM projects. Show this to your girls – it will make them believers.

3. Encourage girls to set higher academic goals and aspirations for themselves. Let’s help our middle grades girls set higher academic goals for both high school and college. Encourage them to choose high-level course work in the maths and sciences and seek out challenges. Assure them that they can successfully grapple with difficulties and overcome obstacles. You’ll find specific suggestions for ways to help your girls in that line of thinking that at this site: Engineer Your Life: Ways We Can Inspire.

4. Give girls exposure to STEM fields. Plan field trips and extracurricular activities to give girls contact with STEM-related fields. Girls who are interested in STEM careers do hands-on science experiments at earlier ages, go to science museums, and engage in extracurricular STEM experiences earlier. At this Edutopia site you can exchange posts with people who discuss how they involve middle grades kids in different STEM experiences and programs.

5. Give girls support in career planning. STEM girls are motivated by careers that require them to think, that help people, and that make a difference in the world. Providing strong support to help girls plan their careers and futures is essential. STEM girls have more career support from parents, family members, family friends, teachers, and friends, compared to non-STEM girls. This site is loaded with links and information that you can use with your girls as they consider careers.

6. Break down gender barriers. They still exist.

Let’s do it!

Let’s build girl power in the STEM workforce and get rid of these kinds of tales of woe. I love you boys and young men, but for now let’s all promote STEM Girl Power! Do I have any high fives on that?