Gender representation and academic achievement among STEM-interested students in college STEM courses

Pathways to Youth Activism Orientation in STEM: the Role of STEM Classroom Inclusivity and Motivational Beliefs

Activism around science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is a critical task to promote social justice and to develop sustainable and effective solutions to global problems (e.g., climate change) in contemporary society. The present study examines relationships between adolescents' perceptions of gender and ethnic classroom inclusivity, outcome expectancies, utility values, and activism orientation in STEM, grounded in the situated expectancy-value theory. Participants were 699 adolescents (50.2% boys, 47.8% White; MT1age = 15.11 years, SD = 0.84) in the southeastern United States. A structural equation model with FIML estimation, multiple imputation with Bayesian analysis, and multigroup SEM analyses were utilized to test the hypothesized associations using two time points, controlling for sociodemographics and STEM grades. The findings revealed that adolescents' perceptions of STEM classroom inclusivity appeared to play an important role in shaping STEM expectancies and perceived value of STEM. Multigroup SEM analysis showed that ethnicity significantly moderates the effect of perceived STEM classroom inclusivity on STEM expectancies, suggesting the effect of inclusivity on expectancies is stronger for racially/ethnically majoritized adolescents as compared to racially/ethnically minoritized adolescents. Associations from STEM motivational beliefs to activism orientation revealed that adolescents with higher STEM utility values are more likely to have a higher orientation toward STEM activism. Adolescents' perceptions of STEM classroom inclusivity had an indirect positive effect on STEM activism orientation through STEM utility values. These findings provide support for the conceptual premise that classroom inclusivity can foster motivational beliefs, and activism orientation in STEM.

Brazilian women in Bioinformatics: Challenges and opportunities

Bioinformatics is a growing research field that received great notoriety in the years of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a very integrative area, comprising professionals from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In agreement with the other STEM areas, several women have greatly contributed to bioinformatics ascension; however, they had to surpass prejudice and stereotypes to achieve recognition and leadership positions, a path that studies have demonstrated to be more comfortable to their male colleagues. In this review, we discuss the several difficulties that women in STEM, including bioinformatics, surpass during their careers. First, we present a historical context on bioinformatics and the main applications for this area. Then, we discuss gender disparity in STEM and present the challenges that still contribute to women's inequality in STEM compared to their male colleagues. We also present the opportunities and the transformation that we can start, acting in academia, inside the family and school environments, and as a society, hence contributing to gender equality in STEM. Finally, we discuss specific challenges in the bioinformatics field and how we can act to overcome them, especially in low and middle-income countries, such as Brazil.

Gendered Performance Gaps in an Upper-Division Biology Course: Academic, Demographic, Environmental, and Affective Factors

Despite the existent gender parity in undergraduate biology degree attainment, gendered differences in outcomes are prevalent in introductory biology courses. Less is known about whether these disparities persist at the upper-division level, after most attrition is assumed to have occurred. Here, we report the consistent presence of gender equity gaps across 35 offerings (10 years) of a large-enrollment upper-division biology course at a research-intensive public university. Multilevel modeling showed that women's grades were lower than men's, regardless of prior GPA. These gender gaps were present even when controlling for students' race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, first-generation college-going status, international status, and transfer status. Class size, gender representation in the classroom, and instructor gender did not significantly relate to course grades. Student questionnaires in a subset of offerings indicated gendered differences in course anxiety, science identity, and science self-efficacy, which correlated with grade outcomes. These results suggest that women experience differential outcomes in upper-division biology, which may negatively influence their persistence in STEM fields postgraduation. Our findings suggest that gender disparities are a systemic problem throughout the undergraduate biology degree and underscore the need for further examination and transformation of upper-division courses to support all students, even at late stages of their degrees.

Dance-Themed National Biomechanics Day Community Engagement to Inspire our Future STEAM Leaders

Community engagement experiences through National Biomechanics Day (NBD) that focused on dance biomechanics have provided excellent Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) learning opportunities. During these experiences, bidirectional learning has been enjoyed by the biomechanists hosting the events and the kindergarten through 12th grade student attendees. In this article, perspectives are shared about dance biomechanics and hosting dance-themed NBD events. Importantly, examples of high school student feedback are provided that point towards the positive impact of NBD by inviting future generations to advance the field of biomechanics.