My overarching research question was, “What factors contribute to STEM fear in adolescent girls?” While designing my study, considerations were taken into the availability of research participants. As a high school teacher with access mainly to student interactions and classroom observations, I created sub questions which focused mainly on classroom dynamics. How do student-teacher interactions in element influence the gender Achievement gap in STEM fields? How does the gender of the classroom teachers in STEM fields influence a child’s aspirations towards STEM fields? Do teachers in STEM fields portray gender bias within their classroom? How do teachers contribute to STEM FEAR? How do student-student interactions influence STEM …show more content…
I often question what factors in my life influenced me to continue to pursue Math as my area of expertise. I believed that if I were able to discover this concept, that I could, in turn, use this knowledge to decrease the gender gap seen in these fields. Yet, I had already formulated my own opinions as to what I thought was happening. I concluded that women are generally timider and less competitive than men. These personality “deficiencies” are necessary traits for success in rigorous STEM fields. Therefore I biasedly searched for instances of timidity to support my claim. I looked for where I could find the data to support my argument rather than data to help understand my question. I search for confirmation rather than information. This caused me to take a moment and reflect on the information being collected and what aspects of my life may have led me here. Growing up in a traditionally Nigerian household strengthened these opinions within me. Although my mother was a single mom who studied hard and became a nurse, I still felt women were meant to be domestic. Therefore, I, as well as my female siblings, chose career that were STEM-related but viewed as the ‘softer, more nurturing” side of STEM. Such careers like nursing, and teaching, although STEM-related, are female-dominated careers. Therefore As I conduct interviews and observations I need to ensure I am not unknowingly influencing my subjects nor am I looking through tainted biased