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Influence, Confidence, and Interest in Mathematics: The Route to Increasing Female Participation in STEM
No full textWomen are underrepresented in STEM professions despite initiatives to encourage young women to pursue these financially rewarding careers. Studies show this divide is not due to inability or lack of female participation in higher education, as women tend to outscore their male counterparts on standardized tests and make up approximately 59% of the postsecondary student population. Rather, the disconnect in the high school-to-college STEM pipeline for young women seems to center on mathematics. In response, this action research study focused on addressing societal influence and mathematical confidence and interest using a constructivist approach in an honors Algebra 2 class.Hands-on activities, directed research, and embedded questioning in lessons that centered on STEM professions and real-world applications of mathematics exposed students to more information about the availability of different vocations and the education needed to pursue these options. Surveys, interviews, and observation yielded data to assess the intervention’s impact. Analysis shows the hands-on activities increased the young women’s interest and confidence in mathematical ability. The interview data suggest the intervention also increased their awareness of vocational opportunities, but did little to counter parental and other societal influences. Additional research could build on these conclusions by exploring more intentional curriculum choices and focusing more on women specifically in mathematics
Media Effects on Political Confidence in Autocratic Regimes
Get PDFIn established autocracies, political control and support are integral to maintaining the regime. In an effort to do this, autocracies use media as a tool to persuade and manipulate public opinion in a favorable light. Negative media and messages are not tolerated as it threatens the legitimacy and continuation of the regime. The purpose of this study is to empirically evaluate the effects of social media and online news consumption on support for political institutions and overall satisfaction. This study will use hierarchical linear modeling to analyze data from the World Values Survey to test the hypothesis that social media and online media will negatively impact support for the regime. The results find that digital media viewership produces negative effects on regime support. In contrast, traditional media shows mixed effects on regime support, with television producing the most consistent support for the regime. Traditional media remains under strict regime control, allowing only positive assessments of government actions and results. The results of this study could allow for a broader understanding of undermining the authority of autocratic regimes as democratic messages are seen. The effects of the expansion of the internet and social media in these countries could threaten the legitimacy and control that has been maintained through state-owned and censored media