Does gender determine the choice to take science? When participation rates of men and women in scientific and mathematical fields are compared, all countries with statistical information have reported significantly lower participation rates for women (Heller & Ziegler, 1996). This was not shocking news. Under representation of women in sciences has been the norm since society frequently views women as lacking in ability, although there is no convincing evidence for different abilities in boys or girls (Bandura, 1997; Joyce & Weil, 1996; Weiner, 1985) Gifted girls face many obstacles in their academic careers The literature review deals with two main areas, parental support and school attitude. The first area relates to parental support that includes parental expectations, gender roles, parental encouragement, and encouraging agency. Then school attitude, including socializing agents, attributional feedback, self-efficacy, self-concept, equity, teachers, fun and prior experience, and peers was examined. This study attempted to explore the perceptions of gifted girls regarding school environment and parental support influencing their choices to take extracurricular science classes. This will add knowledge to the field of gifted education, specifically that of within-gender differences of gifted girls. Moreover, by knowing influential factors within the school environment and parental realm, educators and parents will be better equipped to nurture these in other gifted girls, thus, changing these 'obstacles' into positive challenges.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/8759 |
| Date | January 1999 |
| Creators | Wood, Shaunda L. |
| Contributors | Michaud, Pierre, |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 143 p. |
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