Browse by keyword "Sciences"
1. Academic engagement and science achievement: A gendered relationship? (2010)
Authors: Robert Sweet, Maria Adamuti-Trache
Collection: Research Materials
The 2002 School Achievement Indicators Program Science (SAIP-SCIENCE) survey, administered to a national sample of Canadian youth aged 13 to 16, showed girls performing significantly below boys in the application of scientific knowledge to everyday problems. On the other hand, girls get higher teacher-assigned grades than boys in their science classes.
The authors of this paper note that girls’ superior performance in science classrooms may be due to teachers’ marking practices, which reward not only cognitive achievement but also social behaviour, like the compliance with rules and completion of homework.
However, it would be expected that the study efforts of girls would lead not just to higher teacher-assigned grades but also to higher scientific literacy scores. The authors’ goal is to look at why girls’ greater investments in homework do not result in higher literacy scores.
While many girls respond well to the current curriculum, others do not, and for them, changes in the curriculum or teaching methods may help, the authors point out. As well, it is possible that boys performed well on the literacy test because their leisure time activities offer more opportunity to explore and apply science-related activities.
The gap in science literacy scores between boys and girls is not a wide one, the authors note. However, if that gap is discouraging girls from continuing their science studies, then further attention to this matter is needed.
Added: 2013-03-21
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2. At Odds with Science? (1991)
Women's Education des femmes, Fall 1991 • vol. 9 no.2
Series: Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women (CCLOW)
Authors: Georgina Feldberg
Collection: Research Materials
This article discusses women's representation in medicine, mathematics, science, engineering and the technologic trades and the perception by some that scientific work is not women's work.
The article is written in English and is accompanied by a summary written in French.
Added: 2004-02-11
3. The cultural divide in science education for Aboriginal learners (2007)
Lessons in Learning - February 1, 2007
Series: Lessons in Learning
Authors: Canadian Council on Learning (CCL)
Collection: Research Materials
Aboriginal people in Canada are sharply underrepresented in science and engineering occupations. As well, Aboriginal students take advanced high school science classes and enrol in science-related postsecondary programs at much lower rates than their non-Aboriginal counterparts.
This paper suggests that this disparity may have cultural roots. The Aboriginal world view sees people, landscape, and living resources as a spiritual whole, while, in contrast, the Western science approach seeks greater understanding through breaking apart the whole and analyzing it into its smallest parts. These cultural differences can create difficulties for Aboriginal students in classrooms dominated by the Western science perspective.
The authors suggest integrating Aboriginal content into science classrooms and taking a flexible approach that allows local knowledge to be used alongside textbook knowledge. They suggest consulting with local elders about how best to integrate traditional knowledge into the curriculum.
They also describe current initiatives in both Canada and the United States that are integrating Aboriginal perspectives into curricula and looking at ways to encourage Aboriginal people to pursue further education in scientific fields.
Added: 2013-02-25
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4. Daughters of Invention (1991)
Women's Education des femmes, Summer 1991 - Vol. 9, No. 1
Series: Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women (CCLOW)
Authors: Rachelle Sender Beauchamp
Collection: Research Materials
This article features The Daughters of Invention workshops developed by the Women Inventors Project.
Added: 2004-03-26
5. A Dose of Preventive Medicine for Science Education (1983)
Women's Education des femmes, June 1983 - Vol. 1, No. 2
Series: Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women (CCLOW)
Authors: Joan Scott Pinner
Collection: Research Materials
This article discusses the importance of the Science Council of Canada taking specific measures to ensure that women finish high school with the same science and math education as their male classmates.
Added: 2004-03-31
6. Fact Sheet - Learning to Know: Youth Literacy Skills (2010)
Series: Composite Learning Index
Authors: Canadian Council on Learning (CCL)
Collection: Research Materials
According to the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Canadian 15-year-olds scored above OECD averages in reading, math, and science literacy. Canada’s science scores put it in the top seven of 57 countries.
But while all of Canada’s provinces performed at or above the OECD average, the authors point out that there were significant differences among the results of individual provinces. Within Canada, students in Quebec and Alberta had the highest scores in math. Also, students in French-language schools outside of Quebec performed at a lower level in science than students enrolled in Anglophone schools.
The document includes charts showing international comparisons for math and reading scores.
Added: 2011-11-30
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7. Female Scientists Are Real People! Introducing Girls to Science Careers (1991)
Women's Education des femmes, Summer 1991 - Vol. 9, No. 1
Series: Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women (CCLOW)
Authors: Andra McCartney
Collection: Research Materials
In this article, the author discusses a Science and Technology Careers Workshop held in Peterborough, Ontario in 1990. More than forty girls in grades 9 to 11 from Ontario participated in the three-day workshop where one of the main emphases was an attempt to break down the barriers caused by gender stereotyping.
The presenters posed questions to encourage students to think about gender and science such as: How many famous women scientists can you name? Why are there so few? What is the ratio of male science teachers to female science teachers at your school? Why? Are science and emotions compatible?
Added: 2004-07-28
8. Formal, Non-formal and Informal Learning in the Sciences (2010)
Authors: Heather L. Ainsworth, Sarah Elaine Eaton
Collection: Research Materials
This report looks at both the links and the differences between formal, non-formal and informal learning, with particular reference to the field of science and engineering in Canada and the United States.
The authors describe formal learning as intentional, organized and structured, while non-formal learning is more loosely organized. Informal learning is described as experiential and spontaneous, and would include things like learning from a co-worker on the job.
The authors draw from research in the fields of education, sciences, and engineering, as well as a number of government documents.
Added: 2013-02-19
9. Gender differences in career choices: Why girls don’t like science (2007)
Lessons in Learning - November 1, 2007
Series: Lessons in Learning
Authors: Canadian Council on Learning (CCL)
Collection: Research Materials
While growing numbers of Canadian women are successfully pursuing postsecondary studies, there is still a large gender gap in science-related occupations and a gender-based wage gap.
Research suggests that there is no gender difference between girls and boys when in comes to ability and aptitude for science, the authors note. These findings suggest that cultural or environmental factors, rather than biological ones, affect girls’ interests and career choices.
Parents may inadvertently influence girls’ lack of interest in science by responding differently to sons and daughters. They may be more likely to explain scientific concepts to sons than to daughters, or may be more inclined to buy science materials like chemistry sets or microscopes for boys rather than girls.
The authors offer a number of suggestions for parents, including encouraging daughters to take science courses in high school; providing opportunities for girls to meet women scientists; and watching science-related television programs with their children.
They also describe a number of programs designed to encourage interest in the sciences. Some are open to both girls and boys, while others are specifically for girls.
Added: 2013-01-03
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10. Go For It (1991)
Women's Education des femmes, Summer 1991 - Vol. 9, No. 1
Series: Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women (CCLOW)
Authors: Rachel Zimmerman
Collection: Research Materials
When this article was written, the author was a grade thirteen student in Ontario. She describes her positive experiences with science fairs in school, and her passion for science.
Added: 2004-08-13
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