STEM Equity Pipeline

1. STEM Equity Pipeline Counselors as Key to Expanding Options for Non-traditional Students March 2011 Courtney Reed Jenkins National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity Education Foundation 608/886-0728 creedjenkins@napequity.org

2. Goals for today • Network with regional counselors • Analyze the data • Review the research • Identify best strategies • Explore next steps

3. Icebreaker Guidance counseling: How has it changed your life to be a guidance counselor? Guidance counseling: Who counseled you during an important life decision? Guidance counseling: What is a strategy for connecting to families or your community? Nontraditional training or employment:What was your first experience? Nontraditional training or employment: What was your most recent experience?

4. STEM Equity Pipeline • Project of the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity Education Foundation • Funded by the National Science Foundation • Human Resources Directorate, Gender in Science and Engineering Program, Extension Services Grant

5. Goals • Build the capacity of the formal education community • Institutionalize the implemented strategies by connecting the outcomes to existing accountability systems • Broaden the commitment to gender equity in STEM education

6. Intellectual Specialization • Accountability – Using Data to Drive Program Improvement • The Five Step Process • Professional Development - Implementing Effective Extension Services in the Formal Education Community

7. State Teams • 11 states • California • Missouri • Illinois • Oklahoma • Wisconsin • Iowa • Minnesota • New Hampshire • Ohio • Texas • Georgia • Secondary/Postsecondary collaboration • Led by the agencies that administer career and technical education in the state

9. Girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and math What the Data Tell Us

10. Girls’ performance and participation in math and science subjects in high school has improved over time and, in some cases, has surpassed that of boys.

11. In high school, both boys and girls are earning more credits in math and science over time, and girls earn more credits than boys do. High School Credits Earned in Math and Science, by Gender, 1990–2005 Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2007, The Nation's Report Card: America's high school graduates. Results from the 2005 NAEP High School Transcript Study, by C. Shettle et al. (NCES 2007-467) (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office).

12. High school girls are more likely to take biology, chemistry, and pre-calculus than boys are, but girls are less likely to take physics. Source: National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). Digest of Education Statistics.

13. Female high school graduates now also earn higher GPAs, on average, in math and science, than their male peers do. Grade Point Average in High School Mathematics and Science (Combined), by Gender, 1990–2005 Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2007, The Nation's Report Card: America's high school graduates: Results from the 2005 NAEP High School Transcript Study, by C. Shettle et al. (NCES 2007-467) (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office).

14. Girls’ participation and performance on high-stakes tests in math and science in high school are also improving over time, although boys perform better on average.

15. On average, boys perform better than girls do on Advanced Placement (AP) tests in math and science. Average Scores on Advanced Placement Tests in Mathematics and Science Subjects, by Gender, 2009 Source: Retrieved November 11, 2009, from the College Board website at www.collegeboard.com.

16. Two ongoing concerns: These trends are absent in career and technical education The equitable participation and performance erode further at every post-secondary transition

17. STEM career and technical education is stubbornly sex-segregated

18. Despite the positive trends in high school, the transition from high school to college is a critical time for young women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

19. EICC and feeder school data

20. We lose women at every post-secondary transition in STEM classes and careers

21. Women are less likely than men are to declare a STEM major in college. Source: Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology. Data derived from Cooperative Institutional Research Program, Higher Education Research Institute, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 1990 through Fall 2006, www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/heri.htm.

22. Women have earned the majority of bachelor’s degrees since 1982. Bachelor's Degrees Conferred, by Gender,1971–72 to 2006–07 Source: Snyder, T.D., Dillow, S.A., and Hoffman, C.M. (2009). Digest of Education Statistics 2008 (NCES 2009-020). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.

23. Women’s representation among STEM bachelor’s degree holders has improved over time but varies by field. Bachelor’s Degrees Earned by Women in Selected Fields, 1966–2006 Source: National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, 2008, Science and engineering degrees: 1966–2006 (Detailed Statistical Tables) (NSF 08-321) (Arlington, VA), Table 11, Author's analysis of Tables 34, 35, 38, & 39.

24. Women’s representation among STEM doctorates has also increased dramatically over time, although it varies by field. Doctorates Earned by Women in Selected STEM Fields, 1966–2006 Source: National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, 2008, Science and engineering degrees: 1966–2006 (Detailed Statistical Tables) (NSF 08-321) (Arlington, VA), Table 25, Author's analysis of Tables 34, 35, 38, & 39.

25. Women’s representation in the STEM workforce is also uneven

26. Women are well represented among biological scientists but makeup a small minority of engineers. Women in Selected STEM Occupations, 1960–2000 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, & 2000, Census of the population (Washington, DC).

27. Women are underrepresented in many science and engineering occupations. Percentage of Employed STEM Professionals Who Are Women, Selected Professions, 2008 Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009, Women in the labor force: A databook (Report 1018) (Washington, DC), Table 11.

28. Discussing the Data • Benchmark your institution and community: does female participation in STEM classes and careers parallel or diverge from the national data? • Discuss male participation in nontraditional careers: how does the path differ from female students?

30. Identify Root Causes

31. Review Research Summary • “Nontraditional Career Preparation: Root Causes and Strategies” • Authors: Lynn Reha, ICSPS; Mimi Lufkin, NAPE; Laurie Harrison, Foothill Associates

32. Nontraditional Career Preparation: Root Causes and Strategies • Individually: ONLY READ What the literature says: theory and What the literature says: evidence • As you read, • Highlight what is new • Underline what is confirming • what is interesting • In your small group: Prepare to pass along the key points to the large group

33. How to Identify Root Causes • Search for most direct and highest impact causes • Employ a systematic evidence-based process • Formulate and test theories or hypotheses • Draw on current research and evaluation • Use multiple methods and data sources • Likely to find multiple causes

34. The Five Step Process

35. Nontraditional Career Preparation: Root Causes and Strategies • Individually, read through the Recommendations and strategies and Effective practices and resources • Review other resources for strategies and practices • Select 1-3 strategies to implement • Group discussion: World Café