Beth Kurtz-Costes

Doctoral student experiences in gender-balanced and male-dominated graduate programs

Similarities and differences were examined in graduate school experiences of male and female doctoral students in programs containing predominantly male or gender-balanced faculty. Participating students reported their perceptions of mentor support, partner support, peer support, academic self-concept, sensitivity to family issues, stress, and career commitment. In studies, women in male-dominated programs expressed lower academic self-concept, less sensitivity in their departments to family issues, and lower career commitment compared with all other students. Mentor support and academic selfconcept predicted the career commitment of all students. Student reports were unrelated to the gender of their mentors. A subset of the students participated at both time points; these students showed significant drops in self-concept and career commitment across the 2 years. Since 1960, the number of women earning advanced degrees in the United States has increased dramatically, more than 2,000% in some fields (National Center for Education Statistics, 1995). Nevertheless, gender equity has not yet become a reality. Compared with men, women earn advanced degrees in lower status fields (e.g., social work and education vs. business and economics), are less likely to pursue the most advanced levels of education, are more likely to exit their programs before degree completion, and receive 80% of what their male counterparts earn given equal training and experience (Digest of Educational Statistics, 1995;

Gender and Doctoral Studies: The Perceptions of Ph.D. Students in an American University.

Twenty students enrolled in Ph.D. programmes were interviewed to examine the role of gender in their academic experiences. Gender was examined in three ways: gender of the student, gender of the student’s faculty supervisor and gender make‐up of the faculty within the student’s department or academic unit. All students reported the importance of supportive faculty mentors and that financial worries, time pressure and the uncertainty of future employment were sources of stress. Family formation and striving toward personal as well as professional goals were particularly of concern for women, as were perceptions of differential treatment. Women students valued women faculty mentors, although female faculty were perceived as less supportive than male faculty of family concerns when these women had themselves sacrificed family formation for the sake of their careers. Both men and women experienced less stress and reported greater career commitment when faculty in their departments exhibited less traditional values regarding the balancing of personal and professional goals. The implications of these findings for reducing doctoral student attrition rates and for creating a more supportive environment for Ph.D. students are discussed.

Cognitive and Motivational Determinants of Reading Comprehension in Good and Poor Readers

Cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational factors were examined as predictors of individual differences in the reading comprehension abilities of good and poor readers. Two hundred twenty seventh graders were measured on reading comprehension, and the top 30% and bottom 30% were identified as good and poor readers, respectively. Subjects were then measured on word recognition, metacognitive knowledge about text processing, perceived competence, and attributional beliefs about the reasons underlying academic outcomes. The results indicated that good readers in comparison to poor readers scored higher on the word recognition measure, possessed richer metacognitive knowledge, and had more positive beliefs about their academic abilities. Regression analyses indicated that word recognition and metacognition predicted reading comprehension in the whole sample; however, regression analyses within subgroups indicated that word recognition was the most important predictor variable for poor readers, whereas perceived competence predicted the reading comprehension abilities of good readers.

Academic Race Stereotypes, Academic Self-Concept, and Racial Centrality in African American Youth

The relation between academic race stereotype endorsement and academic self-concept was examined in two studies of seventh- and eighth-grade African Americans. Based on expectancy-value theory, the authors hypothesized that academic race stereotype endorsement would be negatively related to self-perceptions. Furthermore, it was anticipated that the relation between stereotype endorsement and self-perceptions would be moderated by racial centrality. The hypothesis was supported in two independent samples. Among students with high racial centrality, endorsement of traditional race stereotypes was linked to lower self-perceptions of academic competence. The stereotype/self-concept relation was nonsignificant among youth for whom race was less central to their identities. These results confirm the supposition of expectancy-value theory and illustrate the interweaving of group and individual identity with motivational beliefs.

Television Viewing, Educational Quality of the Home Environment, and School Readiness

The relationships among school readiness, childrens television viewing, parental employment, and the educational quality of the home environment were examined. Thirty preschool children from low-income families and their primary caregivers were interviewed. Parents responded to questions about childrens television viewing habits, the educational quality of the home environment, and employment status. Children were assessed on IQ and school readiness. Correlational analyses indicated that television viewing time was negatively related to parental instruction and number of childrens books in the home. Viewing time was also negatively related to childrens school readiness skills. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for an understanding of home environmental influences on the academic skill development of disadvantaged preschoolers.

The development of children’s beliefs about intelligence

Abstract We review research in the development of children’s beliefs about intelligence and propose that this development represents simultaneous processes of concept acquisition and theory building. Research in beliefs about the nature of intelligence has focused on children’s definitions of intelligence, beliefs about the component structure of intelligence, and the criteria children use to evaluate ability. Children’s beliefs about the stability of intelligence have been examined in terms of constancy, controllability, capacity, the origins of intelligence, and mechanisms of change. Researchers have also examined the relationships among beliefs about intelligence and the relationship between those beliefs and achievement behaviors. We summarize prior theoretical frameworks used to explain the development of children’s beliefs and propose a new integrative model to understand children’s conceptions.

Mothers' achievement beliefs and behaviors and their children's school readiness: A cultural comparison

We explored the relationships among mothers’ attributional beliefs, mothers’ behaviors, and children’s school readiness in European- and Chinese-American mothers and their 4-year-olds. Mothers rated the importance of ability, effort, teachers, and parents as causes of children’s academic success, and reported how many times in the previous week they had read with their children. Children’s autonomy and mothers’ encouragement of children’s autonomy were evaluated while mother–child pairs performed a joint task. Children completed a school readiness test. ChineseAmerican children scored higher on autonomy and school readiness than their European-American peers, and Chinese-American mothers showed stronger effort-related beliefs than European-American mothers. Mothers’ attributional beliefs in effort were significantly related to their autonomy encouragement. Contrary to our hypotheses, mothers’ behaviors were unrelated to school readiness or child autonomy. D 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

Gender and racial favouritism in Black and White preschool girls

The authors examined gender and racial preferential behaviour in 108 3- and 5-year-old Black and White girls. Children set up a birthday party for dolls that differed in gender and racial physical characteristics. Whereas White girls showed favouritism towards the doll most closely resembling themselves in both gender and race, Black girls showed most favouritism towards the White girl doll. Black girls were more likely to show preference based on gender rather than race, whereas White girls were equally likely to show race- or gender-based favouritism. Among White 5-year-olds, greater prior interaction with Blacks was positively associated with race-related favouritism (i.e., secondary preference to the White boy doll rather than the Black girl doll). Interracial contact was unrelated to racial favouritism among the other three groups. Results demonstrate the salience of gender identity during the preschool years, and indicate that majority/minority status and intergroup contact shape the development of collective identity and social behaviour.

Gender Development in African American Youth

Using the organizing framework of Ruble, Martin, and Berenbaum (2006), we summarized literature on gender development in African American youth within six content areas: biological/categorical sex, activities and interests, personal-social attributes, social relationships, styles and symbols, and values regarding gender. Results with African Americans were compared with what is known about gender processes in other U.S. racial groups, and gaps in the literature were noted. Finally, we summarized the literature on socialization influences on gender development in African American youth, focusing particularly on parents and media. Our review shows that gender, along with race, plays a significant role in the development of African American youth, with many of these processes similar to what is found in youth of other racial/ethnic groups. Contextual factors such as family structure and racial context are important to take into account to best understand individual differences in the gender development of Black youth.

School transitions and African American youth

School transitions have long been associated with drops in academic motivation. Literature is reviewed on both the transition from elementary school to middle school and the transition from middle school to high school, showing how changes in school context, combined with developmental changes in the child, may lead to either positive or negative changes in academic motivation. We summarize literature on school transitions for American youth in general as well as the limited literature on these transitions and their motivational consequences among African American youth. Contextual changes that occur with school transitions (e.g., race composition of schools and classrooms) co-occur with youths’ growing awareness of race, influencing the identity development and academic motivation of African American youth through several mechanisms. Three such mechanisms are discussed in detail. Race and gender academic stereotypes have the potential to shape youths’ self-perceptions, values, and goals. Racial discrimination occurs both at an institutional level (e.g., differences in school quality that place African American youth at a disadvantage) and at a personal level (e.g., a teacher’s failure to recommend a high-achieving Black child for an honors class). Racial identity can serve both as a protective factor and as a risk factor. Suggestions for future research include a closer study of specific aspects of school contexts that shape motivation, the role of families, ways in which school policies and pedagogical practices affect transition experiences, and the examination of ways in which school transitions are opportunities for fresh starts and positive change in African American youth.