September - Vol 70, No 1 - International Technology and ...
September - Vol 70, No 1 - International Technology and ...
September - Vol 70, No 1 - International Technology and ...
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events <strong>and</strong> activities marked lower case (m or f, indicating<br />
slight preference) or “none” (neutral). These tables should<br />
be helpful to teachers who wish to present a curriculum<br />
that is more gender neutral.<br />
Girls enjoy group activities <strong>and</strong> events that simulate making a<br />
contribution to society.<br />
* = If a * appears beside any of the above codes, it<br />
indicates that the difference noted was statistically<br />
significant according to the Chi-Square (Χ²) test at the<br />
.05 level.<br />
Statistical significance does not automatically indicate<br />
importance, so a few of the events marked “m” also have<br />
the *, making them “m *.” Only one event coded with a<br />
capitol letter (M) did not have a significant Χ² finding<br />
(high school - Structural Engineering), so all other F <strong>and</strong><br />
M findings are significant statistically as well. In selecting<br />
events, teachers should consider all three bits of data (raw<br />
numbers, percentages, <strong>and</strong> Χ² results) to determine if the<br />
finding is fully valid, represents enough numbers to be<br />
useful, <strong>and</strong> really represents a large enough difference to<br />
be important.<br />
The middle school girls seemed to like most (with<br />
high preference, F) 12 of the 31 events <strong>and</strong> had a slight<br />
preference (f) for four more events. Middle school boys<br />
still had a high level of preference (M) for 7 events,<br />
including the Dragster Design. High school findings were<br />
similar in nature, but there were fewer events strongly<br />
favored by girls (5 of 33 marked F), while boys chose 9<br />
events more often (M). In both tables, teachers can identify<br />
Conclusions<br />
The field of technology education evolved from an<br />
historically male-dominated industrial arts curriculum.<br />
The projects <strong>and</strong> other learning activities of IA held little<br />
interest for girls, <strong>and</strong> few females entered the field at any<br />
level as secondary students, teachers, or professors. With<br />
the transition to TE, new activities came into vogue, but<br />
many, such as the CO 2 -powered race car, were still of<br />
much more interest to boys. Casual observations of the<br />
strong male gender bias were confirmed with research,<br />
but the research literature has had little effect in the TE<br />
laboratories <strong>and</strong> classrooms of our schools. This article<br />
interpreted some valid research findings in a manner more<br />
easily accessible to teachers <strong>and</strong> presents them in the<br />
appropriate forum for having real impact in our middle<br />
<strong>and</strong> high schools. TSA competitive events have been<br />
demonstrated to have significant impact on what is taught<br />
in the TE curriculum <strong>and</strong> how it is taught. <strong>No</strong>w teachers<br />
can consult the tables provided in this article to choose<br />
activities <strong>and</strong> TSA competitive events to feature in their<br />
classes that will attract a higher number of girls <strong>and</strong> help<br />
offset some of the male gender bias at the secondary level.<br />
As more girls participate in higher numbers, eventually<br />
there will also be more female teachers <strong>and</strong> professors to<br />
attract even more girls.<br />
Events centering on socially significant topics (i.e.,<br />
environment, medical technology, etc.) <strong>and</strong> those<br />
focusing on communication skills (such as graphic design,<br />
desktop publishing, etc.) have highest appeal to girls <strong>and</strong><br />
should certainly be considered as a means to balance the<br />
population of our classes. Events for which boys or girls<br />
have only a slight preference <strong>and</strong> those that are neutral<br />
can also be useful (if used in balance) to stem the gender<br />
deficit. It is only those activities <strong>and</strong> TSA events that show<br />
strong male preference that are continuing to repel girls<br />
from our programs. Is it time to consider doing away with<br />
the race cars? Perhaps not, but they certainly should be<br />
balanced with some learning activities <strong>and</strong> TSA events<br />
that are highly preferred by girls if TE is to truly prepare a<br />
whole society of “technologically literate” people.<br />
23 • <strong>Technology</strong> <strong>and</strong> Engineering Teacher • <strong>September</strong> 2010