Sandra L. Hanson

Lost talent : women in the sciences

Tables and Figures Acknowledgments 1. Introduction 2. Science Experiences in School and Beyond 3. Science Resources 4. Gender and Resources 5. Who Survives in Science? 6. Conclusions Appendix: Measures and Analysis Design References Index

The Antecedents of Teenage Fatherhood

The High School and Beyond Survey was used to describe young men who are at risk of becoming teenage fathers and examine the causal process leading to early fathering for young men. Bivariate results show that men who are at risk of fathering children at a young age have unique attitudes and family, school, and dating experiences. Multivariate analyses suggest that the most cogent factors affecting teenage fathering include being black, going steady, and having unorthodox views about parenting outside of marriage.

Gaining Ground: Values and High School Success

In this paper, we use the nationally representative “High School and Beyond” (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 1983) data to examine the relationship between a wide range of values that stress the notion of responsibility and high school students’ achievement test scores, grades, discipline problems, and dropout status. We also examine the extent to which students’ behaviors outside of school (e.g., watching television, doing homework, reading, and working for pay) mediate the relationship between values and high school outcomes. Two structural equation models—one using attainment levels as outcomes and one using change scores as outcomes—are analyzed. Results from both models show that when students, their parents, and their peers believe in values and accompanying behaviors that stress responsibility, students have a better chance of achieving success in high school. Values are found to have both direct effects on school outcomes and indirect effects through out-of-school behaviors. The effect of values as a whole is consistently larger than the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) when predicting both level of student performance and changes in student performance.

Women, Sports, and Science: Do Female Athletes Have an Advantage?.

Both functionalist and conflict theories of sports suggest that participation in sports may have a positive influence on achievement in science, especially for young women. The research presented here found that young womens involvement in high school sports often has a strong and positive association with their success in science in their sophomore and senior years of high school, but that participation in cheerleading is usually negatively associated with success in science. It also found that involvement in sports is a factor in young African American womens success in science, but not always a positive factor. Comparable analyses for young men showed that sports activities are much less important in predicting their science experiences and that when these activities are significant, they have a negative influence

African American Women in Science: Experiences from High School through the Post-Secondary Years and Beyond

This essay uses data from the National Education Longitudinal Survey (NELS) to provide information on the science achievement, access (course-taking), and attitudes of young African American women at various points in the science education system. In addition, it uses recent data from the NELS 2000 panel to examine these young womens entry into science occupations in the early adult years. This essay also examines the extent to which their experiences differ from those of young white women. There is a growing—but limited—body of research that suggests that in spite of barriers the science system sets up for women, minorities, and minority women, it cannot be assumed that members of these groups will be equally disinterested in science. Using a multicultural gender framework, I argue that gender systems in the African American community provide young women with a unique set of resources that might be important for generating interest and success in science. In one of the most extensive studies of young African American womens science experiences from the early high school years to the early adult years, findings show that there is a continued interest and involvement in science, often more so than that for young white women.

GENDER STRATIFICATION IN THE SCIENCE PIPELINE A Comparative Analysis of Seven Countries

This study uses a “science pipeline” model and cross-national data to examine womens participation in science education and occupations in seven countries. Gender stratification in later science education and in science occupations is found in every country examined. Young womens participation in science education decreases with each stage in the science pipeline, but there is considerable cross-national variation in the extent of gender stratification in science. Findings show greater gender stratification in science occupations than in science education, suggesting factors other than training help maintain inequality in high-status science occupations.

Success in Science Among Young African American Women The Role of Minority Families

A conceptual framework that integrates critical gender theory and a multicultural approach is used to examine young African American womens experiences in high school science. Research reveals considerable success for these young women. The multicultural approach suggests that the unique history and culture of African American families may play a critical role. Quantitative and qualitative data are used to explore the familys role in the science attainment process. Findings show that these young women feel less welcome in science than do young White women. However, their interest and involvement in science persist because of the family. Both mothers and fathers influence is important. Although family variables are associated with success in science in the quantitative data, not all young women acknowledge or verbalize their awareness of this influence in the qualitative data. Instead, the young women often see their actions as independent. Implications of these findings for science programs and policies are suggested.

Economic Sector and Job Satisfaction

In this article the relationship between economic sector and job satisfaction is explored. Given the absence of previous research, a framework relying on job satisfaction, dual labor market, and economic-segmentation literature is used to create two alternative hypotheses. If the externally defined objective characteristics of jobs are the critical factor in producing job satisfaction, then the “better” jobs in the core sector will result in job satisfaction differences favoring workers in the core. If individual needs and characteristics and the “fit” between these and job rewards are the critical factors in producing job satisfaction, then the workers in the core do not necessarily have an advantage; in fact the reverse may be true. These two hypotheses are tested using data from the 1973 Quality of Employment survey and two alternate measures of economic sector. Findings support the second hypothesis in that workers in the peripheral (or local and regional) sector have significantly higher levels of reported job satisfaction than those in the core (or monopoly) sector. We conclude that researchers need to consider economic sector as a source of variation in job satisfaction in addition to more conventional structures at the job and organizational level. Paradoxically, a consideration of economic sector may contribute to our understanding of the processes by which individual characteristics and job characteristics combine to create satisfied workers.

Involving Families in Programs for Pregnant Teens: Consequences for Teens and Their Families.

This research seeks to answer the question of whether involving families in programs for pregnant and parenting teens is associated with positive outcomes for the teen her child and her family. Data from three federally funded programs are used to examine the family involvement-outcomes relationship. The results suggest that family involvement regardless of how it is defined and measured is positively associated with a large number of outcomes for the teen and her family. Limitations of presently available data on teen pregnancy programs are presented. Implications of the research findings for future data collection efforts and for a systems approach to service delivery are discussed. (authors)

The Determinants of Marital Instability: Some Methodological Issues.

In this paper we note the inconsistent findings that characterize research on marital instability and propose several potential methodological sources of these inconsistencies. The issues addressed range from problems of external validity introduced by limited samples to the constraints imposed by the various multivariate analytic techniques utilized in previous research. An illustrative application to data from two recent nationally representative probability samples highlights the methodological pitfalls that characterize this area of inquiry. It is argued that, unless more attention is devoted in the literature to issues of method and measurement, little consensus on the determinants of marital disruption can be expected.