How You Can Support Your Daughter in Math and Science

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Earlier this month, three young American women took the top prizes at Google’s first-ever science fair, beating 7,500 other contestants from 91 countries. Said one of the Google judges to the New York Times, “I was secretly happy to see that happen, because for ages men have dominated the science field, and in many cases women who have done excellent work have been ignored.”

Have women been ignored? Well, let’s put it this way. A recent Michigan study found that parents provided more math-supportive environments for their sons than for their daughters, including buying more math and science toys for the boys. They also spent more time on math and science activities with their sons.

More women are pursuing degrees in medicine, law and business but the number of women in science and engineering fields remains low according to the same Michigan study. Math and science are the future. These fields are where the jobs with real opportunity will be.

The reason there are fewer women in these fields is not because of aptitude. “We’ve known for a while now that females do as well as males on tests that measure ability in math and science,” said Pamela Davis-Kean, a psychologist at the University Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR).

There’s more we can be doing to encourage our daughters to go into these fields. According to Live Science, parents’ support (as well as that of teachers) has been shown to be crucial to a girl’s interest in science, technology, engineering and math.  Vint Cerf, Google’s chief Internet evangelist and one of the judges, said a common thread among the finalists was that they had explored science enthusiastically for years with the encouragement of their parents.

So what can you as a parent do to support your daughter in math and science? Here are four things:

1. BE HONEST ABOUT STEREOTYPES YOU HAVE ABOUT GIRLS IN MATH AND SCIENCE

Do you find yourself saying things like, “I could never do math” or “I always hated math when I was a child”?  Making comments like these tells your daughter it’s OK not to do well in math or not to do math at all. Your negative as well as positive comments influence your daughter according to National Engineers Week Foundation

The Michigan study found that dads, in particular, have a major impact on the degree of interest their daughters develop in math. They found that girls’ interest in math decreases as their fathers’ gender stereotypes increase; whereas boys’ interest in math increases as their fathers’ gender stereotypes increase.

Out-of-date ideas and discrimination help convince many talented girls that math and science aren’t for them.

2. WATCH HOW MUCH MATH YOUR DAUGHTER TAKES AND ANY EMERGING STEREOTYPES

According to Engineers Week, in most schools, the key math decision-making times are:

Eighthgrade - when most students decide if they will take algebra in ninth grade, an important first step to continued math involvement (although more advanced students may take algebra in 8th grade)

Eleventh grade – when math requirements for college admission are fulfilled and girls are more likely than boys to stop taking math (this happens in 10th grade for girls who took algebra in eighth grade)

Be alert to any emerging stereotypes. A recent study of fourth graders by LiveScience showed that 66 percent of girls and 68 percent of boys reported liking science. But something else starts happening in grade school. As early as second grade, when students (both boys and girls) are asked to draw a scientist, most portray a white male in a lab coat. Any woman scientist they draw looks severe and not very happy.

The persistence of the stereotypes start to turn girls off, and by eighth grade, boys are twice as interested in science, technology, engineering, and math careers as girls are. The female attrition continues throughout high school, college and even the work force.

3. GIVE HER ENRICHING ACTIVITIES

Don’t rely totally on your daughter’s time in school to nurture her.  ”In fourth grade, my daughter came home and said she hated math; that it was boring” said a mother to Engineers Week. “I told her that maybe what she was learning in school was boring; but math was fun and exciting. So we started to do ‘fun’ math together.”

Fun math and science can start early with families through games, trips to science museums, attending math and science events and camps, and entering science contests. Your local university may also offer  science-for-girls speaker series and workshops.  More and more universities are reaching out to lower grades to encourage girls in science and math.

Just talking helps. Discuss science in the news with your daughter. Praise scientists. Ask your daughter what she is doing in science class. Have her help in family activities that use math and science, such as measuring for a new rug.

Good websites to support you and give you additional ideas include:

GirlStart: Empowering Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

Brain Cake: A website for girls, parents and teachers sponsored by the Carnegie Science Center

NCTM: A resource for families from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics SallyRideScience: A Guide for Parents Grades 4-7

Internet4Classes: A Guide for Parents

Websites for Girls

4. PROVIDE EXPOSURE TO ROLE MODELS

Help your daughter find and follow role models. Below are just of a few of the many links about women who are doing or have done great things in science and math.

NYT: Women Atop Their Field Dissect Scientific Life

10 Greatest Female Scientists

L’OREAL UNESCO Awards and Fellowships for Women in Science

There are also a number of books on Amazon and Barnes and Noble about women scientists, including African American female scientists.

Parents tend to underestimate how much influence they can have on their child. Even if you’ve never had an interest in math or science yourself, don’t assume your daughter feels the same way.  Here’s what Sally Ride, the first American woman and youngest astronaut,  said about her parents, “My parents didn’t have a scientific bone in their body, and their daughter was pursuing a career in astrophysics. They didn’t even know what astrophysics meant, but they supported me.”

3 Popular Books on Amazon

Young Woman of Achievement: A Resource Book for Girls in Science, Math and Technology $16.49

Teaching the Female Brain: How Girls Learn Math and Science $31.49

Math Girls $20.31

Posted on 27. Jul, 2011 by Pat in Parenting

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