1995 Program Evaluation of the Women
in Science Project at Dartmouth College
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This report describes the findings of a year-long evaluation
of the Women in Science Project (WISP) for the National Science
Foundation. The evaluation addressed two principal
questions:
- What impact does WISP (particularly the internship experience)
have on attracting and retaining women
science1
majors?
- What are the needs and challenges that Dartmouth women science
majors face during their college career, and how well is WISP
addressing them?
Three interrelated evaluation strands: effects assessment, internship
tracking, and college science career histories, structured the
collection of quantitative and qualitative data. The principal
evaluation activities included a statistical analysis, six questionnaires,
three sets of interviews, reflective internship journals, three
site visits, and review of other WISP materials.
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Quantitative Analysis:
- A student's decision to major in science is directly associated
with high math SAT scores, being male, and being work-study
eligible (a measure of financial need).
- The effect of gender on majoring in science has changed over
the period analyzed. Specifically, the gender effect is reduced
in 1993 and 1994, compared to 1992. This phenomenon holds even
when multivariate analysis controls for a number of other possible
covariates. The WISP program began in 1990; in 1994, the first
cohort of interns graduated.
- Although math SAT scores, gender, and work-study eligibility
are statistically significant predictors of major choice, they
cumulatively account for less than 10% of the variance. Clearly,
other factors contribute to this dependent measure.
Qualitative Analysis:
Six major themes emerged throughout the qualitative analysis:
confidence, personal contact and teamwork, the bigger picture,
career plans, understandings about scientific research, and the
issue of women in science.
The qualitative findings include:
- The aspect of WISP programs students value most is the personal
contact that they foster. In comparison to large, impersonal,
lecture classes, women appreciate the opportunity to interact
with their peers, older students, faculty, women in science,
and role models. The support, networking, mentoring, and camaraderie
that women enjoy in their relationships make science more approachable
and friendly. WISP-sponsored speaker luncheons, site visits,
peer mentoring programs, but most notably the internship, provide
women opportunities to establish contacts.
- Women's lack of confidence in their scientific abilities discourages
them and causes them to leave science. Internships increase
women's confidence and comfort with science and scientific research;
during their hands-on lab experience they prove to themselves
that they are capable of doing science. The feeling of success
that stems from working on their own research project prompts
some interns to continue in science, often serving as an antidote
to their discouraging classroom experiences and grades. Women
appreciate the opportunity to make their book knowledge useful
and relevant. Conducting lab research whets many participants'
appetites for more; many women plan to seek another research
experience in the future or continue in the same lab.
- Many college women still hold stereotypes of science, scientific
research, and scientists. WISP, especially the internship component,
play an important role in promoting more accurate understandings
of the practice of science. Regardless of whether or not an
intern plans to pursue a career in science, students enthusiastically
characterize their internship as a worthwhile experience that
teaches them much about how science really operates. Interns
finish the experience with a much greater appreciation for the
difficulties and joys of research.
- Women want, and need, more information about the career possibilities
available to a science major. Women associate a science major
with a career in medicine or scientific research. Women's science
study is largely motivated by aspirations to future professions,
realizing that there are a wide range of career options available
to science majors may encourage more women to continue in
science.
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1
Throughout this evaluation, the term "science"
refers to science, mathematics, and engineering.
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