Gender gap in classrooms hinders female participation

By Chivas Wakuta

There are many reasons for the male domination, particularly in the science field, but to decide whether males are more intelligent than females, the cause of the gender gap in today's universities must be examined.

Courses are of tremendous importance for females in determining their overall experience during their middle school and high school education.àFor example, the influence of particular classes can have a major impact on students, especially females, when they're deciding whether or not to take science courses.à

When looking at course experience, one of the major reasons why females start to dislike science at a young age is due to their different learning style.àFemales tend to have a slightly higher tendency toward fieldwork and kinetic learning as well as an increased sensitivity to teacher interaction.àWith the limited science facilities, resources and staff in public, and sometimes private, schools, attention to such difficult learning styles is often unavailable. Therefore, females often feel more alienated from subjects like science when they do not receive the attention they need.

The influence teachers have on females plays an integral role in the formation of the gender gap.àTeachers can facilitate the gender gap by comparing the students in their class.àSuch influential comparisons are made when teachers divide their class into smart students and slow-learning students.à

Unfortunately, females are extremely sensitive to such divisions, especially when they are the ones placed into the lower end of the comparison.àIt can be very easy for a female to be discouraged by an unwitting teacher. Occasionally, teachers may also exclude females by inadvertently calling only upon the males to participate in class.àMales are thereby encouraged to be more outgoing, they are chosen more often to participate in group discussions.

Girls are stupid, or at least that is what children are sometimes taught to believe.àThere has always been a battle between the sexes to prove which gender is faster, stronger and smarter.à But are males really better than females?àAcademically, females trail their male counterparts in math and science from the middle school level to the college years.

Unfortunately, because females are not as successful as males in science during high school, their attitude towards science depreciates. For many, this depreciation tends to carry over to college, for which they will choose their majors based on their experiences in high school as well as their own personal interests.àIf their respect for science decreases, so will their chances of becoming a science major.àAs for the females who do decide to continue their interest in science, there are still many obstacles to overcome.

For students going into a science major in college, the average ACT score for males was 24.1 while the average score for females was 22.8.àEven for the students that were not planning to major in a science field showed similar results:àmales scored an average of 19.5 while females scored a slightly lower average of 19.0.àMany wonder if the scores and statistics such as the recent ACT scores prove that females as may also prove to be an unintentional setback.

The obviousness of why females have been discouraged throughout the years is explained through all of the negative influences provided by society.à If attention is aimed at rectifying the issue of females' struggle in their science classes, more females will be interested and successful in a science career and the workforce of scientifically educated females will increase.

In order for our society to succeed and progress into a scientifically and technologically advanced era, the gender gap must be closed.àThe many technological and scientific discoveries of the past century have caused a high demand for science-literate individuals in the work force.àPrevious generations' interest in science has led to the scientific advances of the 20th century.àTo continue the trend, both male and females of future generations must also become scientifically motivated.àWith an increase of females in the science workforce, there will be much to look forward to in the this century.à

û Chivas Wakuta is a freshman.