The long-running REU-program is tacitly intended to increase retention and provide "an important educational experience" for undergraduates, particularly women, minorities and underrepresented groups. This longitudinal, two-stage study was designed to explore the ways in which REUs acted as educational experiences for 51 women in the field of astronomy, in an attempt to develop a theory of experience related to the REU. Stage-1 consisted of an ex post facto analysis of data collected over 8 years, including multiple interviews with each participant during their REU, annual open-ended alumni surveys, faculty interviews, and extensive field notes. All data were analyzed using a theoretical framework of continuity and interaction, in a search for transformative experiences. Four findings emerged, related to developing understandings of the nature of professional scientific work, the scientific process, the culture of academia, and an understanding of the "self." Analysis provided an initial theory that was used to design the Stage-2 interview protocol. In Stage-2, over 10 hours of interviews were conducted with 8 participants selected for their potential to disconfirm the initial theory. Results indicate that the REU provided a limited impact in terms of participants' knowledge of professional astronomy as a largely computer-based endeavor. The REU did not provide a substantive educational experience related to the nature of scientific work, the scientific process, the culture of academia, participants' conceptions about themselves as situated in science, or other aspects of the "self." Instead, the data suggests that these women began the REU with pre-existing and remarkably strong conceptions in these areas, and that the REU did not functional to alter those states. These conceptions were frequently associated with other mentors/scientist interactions, from middle school into the undergraduate years. Instructors and family members also served as crucial forces in shaping highly developed, stable science identities. Sustained relationships with mentors were particularly transformational. These findings motivate an ongoing research agenda of long-term mentoring relationships for women in the sciences, at a variety of stages and across multiple disciplines.

In recent years, very few Japanese women have entered the fields of science and technology despite the fact that Japan has specialized in these areas. This study attempts to develop a preliminary profile of those women who have despite odds, made careers in science. Generally, these women were found to come from families of high socio-economic status. These families had socialization patterns typical of middle and upper classes which included the teaching of universal, rather than of local, values, little sex-stereotyping, non-arbitrary verbal communication between generations, and field-independent views. / Families of respondents valued education and were interested in science. In many cases they included persons who were causal and creative. Familial males shared their activities with respondents and familial females modelled an independent, nonpassive role. Respondents often had their first positive science experience within the family, but there were also teachers, primarily at secondary and university levels, who encouraged them. In addition, critical experiences and role models also influenced them. Role models were sometimes persons the respondents knew; in other cases, they were literary figures. / In spite of frustrations and some gender discrimination in the workplace, respondents for the most part are happy to have chosen science as their profession.

Thesis (MEd) -- University of South Australia, 1994

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2001. / Adviser: Kevin Dunn. Submitted to the Dept. of English. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 248-292). Access restricted to members of the Tufts University community. Also available via the World Wide Web;

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Alejandro Gallard, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Middle and Secondary Education. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Jan. 13, 2005). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, June, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 159-181)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2006. / Advisor: John Reynolds, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences, Dept. of Sociology. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 14, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 126 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Humboldt State University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-123). Also available via Humboldt Digital Scholar.

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Most academic disciplines have a gender bias that exists in the recognition of research publications: women’s publications are cited at lower rates than men’s publications. In this paper, we examined whether a similar gender bias existed for publications by dendrochronologists. Tree-ring research is a fairly small field where males outnumber females, and therefore the sample size was limited to 20 female dendrochronologists and 20 male dendrochronologists. It was determined that native language (English or non-native English speaker), current employment (government or academic), and gender of the first-author do not significantly influence a paper’s probability of being cited. However, years since dissertation completion was a good predictor of a paper’s citation rate. We suggest that the high productivity of female dendrochronologists and a pattern of co-authoring with male colleagues bring the work of females to the attention of their male colleagues and thus eliminate the gender bias in citation of women’s work common to other disciplines.