Understanding the Acculturation of Women in Science The Interplay of Episteme, Techne, & Phronesis in Retaining Females in Undergraduate Science A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Michele Ann Whitecraft January 2013 © 2013 Michele Ann Whitecraft Understanding the Acculturation of Women in Science: The Interplay of Episteme, Techne & Phronesis in Retaining Females in Undergraduate Science Michele Ann Whitecraft, PhD Cornell University, 2013 Abstract Democracy is a fundamental ideal of our nation. Persistent gender imbalances throughout society indicate strongly, however, that our reality falls short of the ideal. Our institutional decisions, though arguably based on majority rule, do not ensure fairness because the decision- making discussions exclude categories of people and important modes of discourse or ways knowing. One such imbalance lies in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) where women comprise only 13% of professors in the top 100 US universities. The challenge at present, then, is to find out why women leave the sciences in order to know what internal and external coercive forces affect their decisions. This dissertation employs Flyvbjerg’s interpretation of Aristotle’s three intellectual virtues episteme, techne, and phronesis. to help elucidate the attrition of women in computer science, physics and engineering. Each chapter represents each virtue and demonstrates the importance of integrating multiple ways of knowing. From an Aristotelian point of view, phronesis is the most important intellectual virtue that may ensure the ethical employment of science (episteme) and technology (techne). In the spirit of Flyvbjerg’s research, I provide concrete examples through detailed narratives of the ways in which personality, power and values work together in choosing/leaving a major. Just as phronesis is marginalized in the intellectual scheme of things, so too are females as we learn from the attrition stories of two undergraduate females who have traversed the oppressive technocratic terrain of science and left. By incorporating Sandra Harding’s Standpoint Theory the reader is able to pull out key lessons specific to their life experiences and struggles to understand the acculturation of women in science. Ultimately, from my standpoint and understanding, I suggest curriculum oriented supports such as integrating personal values into science courses, having students earn grades that represent a more familiar mean (70-75% mastery instead of “a curve”), and frontloading the curriculum with more collaborative opportunities, to help retain more females in science. Biographical Sketch Michele Whitecraft is a dynamic teacher, lecturer and researcher. She takes a holistic interdisciplinary approach to education and is actively involved in advancing women in science. She has been the recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Secondary Science Education, the Tandy Scholar Teacher Award, and the Governor's Award for Excellence in Education. From her unique research and consulting experiences with the Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, National Institutes for Environmental Health Science, National Institutes of Health, and National Aeronautics Space Association, Michele has designed science curricula with real world experiments ranging from her work on the International Experimental Thermonuclear Reactor at Princeton to the artificial transmutation of the transuranium elements at UC Berkeley. With more than 26 years' experience in teaching high school and college chemistry, she has authored several monographs to enhance science education nation-wide and presented at several national conferences. She has publications in BioScience, Journal of Nuclear Materials, Human Ecology and the Encyclopedia of Ethics. Michele’s experiences with these national organizations and research projects have inspired her desire to help advance women in all scientific endeavors in an effort to realize NSF's goal of 50-50 gender participation in science by 2020. Michele has been a member of the American Chemical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Society of Women Engineers, American Association of University Women, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and National Association of Research in Science Teaching. iii In Loving Memory of Alfa Choice “There, but for you, go I” iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………..viii OVERVIEW & INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE. WHY ARE SO FEW WOMEN IN COMPUTER SCIENCE?.....................................7 Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………………………....7 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Why So Few? Ability Deficits, Preferences, and Cultural Biases……………………………….9 Evidence for deficits in female mathematical-spatial abilities ………..…..9 The role of preferences and lifestyle choices…………………………….12 Biases, stereotypes, and the role of male computer-science culture….….14 Should We Care?................................................................................................................17 What Can We Do to Reverse the Trend?...........................................................................24 Implications of Cross-National Data…………………………………………………….25 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….28 References………………………………………………………………………………..30 CHAPTER TWO. ATTRITION PROFILES: IN THEIR OWN WORDS………….…………………...…34 Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 34 Forward…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 35 PART I Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….42 Research Problem, Questions, & Goals……………………………………………………...43 Personal……………………………………………………………………………………… 45 v Practical……………………………………………………………………………………….47 Intellectual…………………………………………………………………………………...47 Conceptual Framework and Review of the Literature……………………………….47 Methodology/Epistemology/Ethics………………………………………………………….52 Trustworthiness (validity) and Limitations………………………………………………61 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………64 References……………………………………………………………………………………………...66 PART II Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………70 How the profiles were constructed…………………………………………………………..73 How to read the profiles…………………………………………………………………………..74 “It’s Not You, It’s Me” Profile of Kendra Bartell…………………………………………………………………………..81 “I’m Not Accredited; I’m Independent!” Profile of Lucy Vela………………………………………………………………………………..105 Discussion and Analysis………………………………………………………………………....141 Kendra Bartell…………………………………………………………………………….142 A corrupted view of physics and success…………………………...143 External data/Internal perceptions…………………………………...144 The language of (dis)connection……………………………………….147 Lucy Vela…………………………………………………………………………...............151 Cooptation……………………………………………………………………….152 Resilience………………………………………………………………………...155 Disparate educational experiences and mixed messages……159 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………….167 Recommendations for future study………………………………………………………..174 References….…………………………………………………………………………………………176 vi CHAPTER THREE. EPISTEMOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES: THE INTERPLAY OF ARISTOTLE’S INTELLECTAL VIRTUES IN SCIENCE AND SCIENCE EDUCATION REFORM IN HIGHER EDUCATION…….178 Abstract…………………………………………………………………………178 Introduction……………………………………………………………………179 Epistemological Fractalization………………………………………………….187 Conclusion……………………………………...................................................195 References………………………………………………………………………196 OVERALL CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………………….199 Further Implications ……………………………………………………………………………201 References for: Acknowledgments, Overview & Introduction, Overall Conclusion and Further Implications………………………………………………………………………………………………….203 vii Acknowledgements Completing this degree has been the longest, most spiritual journey of my life thus far. It overwhelmed the substance of my present years, of course, but this journey has stretched back the length of my life story too. It really began in a gaping disconnect between the official American story of freedom and my own experiences. I have always felt haunted by the covert injustices I have lived and witnessed. Even in a country that boasts the greatest rights and freedoms in the world, I have not felt free, in part because the official story excludes our responsibilities to self and other. Through this journey, I have been learning the freeing power of taking responsibility and sharing the story. Rosa Parks’ story is my model. She pushed to be the best that she could be and shared it in a way that has served all of us. She did not stand on a ‘safe’ shore of sameness where career had lodged me. She stepped out. What she did is perfectly explained by a book that caught my attention, fortuitously misplaced in the science section. Security… what does this word mean in relation to life as we know it today?.. by this term, I mean a man who has settled for financial and personal security for his goal in life… His ideas and ideals are those of society in general and he is accepted as… respectable… A man is to be pitied who lacked the courage to accept the challenge of freedom and depart from the cushion of security… Turn back the pages of history