GIRLS AND STEM? IT MIGHT BE VALUES…

What factors affect girls’ beliefs about, and interest in, science and technology? We know that at 10 years of age, girls and boys are equally interested in school science, but the gap widens. Drawing on two different studies, Helen Haste will look first at what appears to be the difference between age 10 and age 14, in a study of six nations, and second, at how ethical beliefs and values around science differentiate girls and boys in secondary school – with some surprising findings.

Helen Haste is Visiting Professor in Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education, Emeritus professor of Psychology at the University of Bath, UK, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Exeter, UK.