BII-02: MARIE-C (Merging All-Girls Results in Education and Careers)

Some of Physics Education Research (PER) is targeted on combating physics classroom disparity within a traditionally white male-dominated field to increase accessibility and attainability of physics outcomes for physics students. Historically, the physics field has exhibited a “leaky pipeline” effect in which minority students drop out of the physics curriculum due to lack of support, resources, and negative social environmental factors. It is imperative that efforts in this field persist to continually promote diversity within STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields to accelerate scientific progress. MARIE-C (Merging All-Girls Results in Education and Careers) is a project that surveyed 102 non-male Miami University STEM students, broadly defined, to better understand the motivations behind their choice to pursue a STEM major or career. Our survey focused on secondary school factors such as demographics, geography, socialization, socioeconomics, diversity, religion, and single sex or co-educational student bodies. We found that higher socioeconomic status (SES), social encouragement, and positive peer influence were major indicators of non-male individuals pursuing STEM outcomes. Higher SES correlates with greater access to resources that would result in a greater probability of STEM outcome pursuance. Social encouragement encompasses the idea of key influencers during the “critical period”, such as parents and particularly STEM teachers and their effect on encouraging STEM outcomes. The “critical period” refers to the year preceding a student entering their first year of college. Positive peer influence bolsters the retention of young non-male individuals into the social pipeline towards STEM outcomes. The identification of these factors enables us to tailor experiences for individuals within this “critical period” to effectively influence their interest and pursuance of STEM outcomes. Such experiences include the implementation of Bridges Programs, CIQS (Careers Involving Quantitative Skills) Day, and other experiential learning opportunities which emphasize the importance of and opportunities within these fields. 

Presenter(s): Katy Mevis, Bioengineering Major
Gabrielle Dawson, Physics Major
Advisor(s): Jennifer Blue, Department of Physics