Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering

ISSN for PRINT: 1072-8325

For Online Access

Best Paper Award Selection - Editorial Board Site

2004, Volume10

Issue 4

116 pages

DOI: 10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v10.i4

Issue price - $42.00

Karen L. Yanowitz
Arkansas State University

Despite many efforts, science is still a male-dominated field. Girls who do persist in science often express a desire to use their knowledge in socially relevant ways. The current study examined elementary school girls' beliefs about the work of scientists and how presenting information about a prosocial aspect of physics would influence their attitudes toward that information. Participants were asked an open-ended question to assess their knowledge of what scientists do and were presented with scenarios describing physicists in either a discovery context or as helping society. The results revealed that relatively few participants generated prosocial responses to the open-ended question, and the helping context story was rated as significantly more likable than the discovery context. Suggestions are given for educators to include prosocial aspects of science in their teaching.

DOI: 10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v10.i4.70 Download article, 393-399 pages

Article price - $35.00

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