Transcript Slide 1

The Five Step Program
Improvement Process
Step Two:
Identifying Root Causes
Mimi Lufkin
Chief Executive Officer
National Alliance for
Partnerships in Equity
Education Foundation
December 1, 2008
STEM Equity Pipeline Goals
• Build the capacity of the formal education
community
• Institutionalize the implemented strategies
by connecting the outcomes to existing
accountability systems
• Broaden the commitment to gender equity
in STEM education
Model
Poll
Who is participating in today’s webinar?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
School/College Administrator
Teacher/Faculty Member
Counselor/Student Services Staff
State Agency Staff
STEM Organization Staff
Other
STEP 1
Document
Performance Results
STEP 5
Implement
Solutions
STEP 2
Identify
Root Causes
The Five
Step
Process
STEP 4
Pilot Test and
Evaluate
Best Solutions
STEP 3
Choose
Best Solutions
STEP 1
Document
Performance Results
STEP 5
Implement
Solutions
STEP 2
Identify
Root Causes
The Five
Step
Process
STEP 4
Pilot Test and
Evaluate
Best Solutions
STEP 3
Choose
Best Solutions
STEP TWO
Identify
Root
Causes
Why Search for Root Causes?
• Keep from fixating on the “silver bullet”
strategy
• Identify the conditions or factors that cause
or permit a performance gap to occur
– Two types of causes:
• Direct cause (i.e. instructional practice)
• Indirect cause (i.e. teacher training)
Review Research Summary
Root Causes Tables
• Chapter 6 Tables 16, 17, 19, and 20 from,
“Improving Performance on Perkins III Core
Indicators: Summary of Research on Causes and
Improvement Strategies”
• Authors: Robert Sheets, Mimi Lufkin, and David
Stevens for the National Centers for Career &
Technical Education
• Available at www.stemequitypipeline.org
Review Research Summary
Bias Literacy:
A review of concepts in research on
discrimination
By Ruta Sevo, Ph.D. and
Daryl E. Chubin, Ph.D.
Available at www.stemequitypipeline.org
Root Causes
• Social Attitudes
– Bias and Discrimination
• Gender schema
– Assumptions about gender from birth on
• Accumulative Advantage
– Members of a disadvantaged group have to
accumulate more that 1% advantage to be
considered the same as the advantaged group
• Implicit bias
– Unconscious associations
Root Causes
• Media Representation
– About-face.org
Root Causes
• Early Exposure
– Most students pursuing a nontraditional
career have had a friend or family
member influence them
– Spark an interest that would otherwise
not be evident
– The earlier the better
Root Causes
• Nontraditional Role Models
– Strongest evidence in the research
– Family members are significant
– Teachers
– Mentors
Root Causes
• Self-efficacy
– Attribution Theory
• Girls more likely to attribute success to external
factors and failure to internal factors
– Stereotype Threat
• Stereotype that girls are not as capable as boys in
math affects their performance
– Locus of Control
• When girls feel they are in control of their lives and
their futures they are more likely to select
nontraditional options
Root Causes
• Family Demographics
– Girls with lower socio-economic status
parents have higher sex-stereotyping
scores
– Boys with higher socio-economic status
parents have higher sex-stereotyping
scores
– Family structure or level of education has
no effect
Poll
•
Who is the number one influencer of
students career choice?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
School guidance counselor
Teacher
Peers/Friends
Parent
Relative
Adult/Family Friend
Root Causes
• Spouse/Significant Other/Parental
Support
– Parents are the #1 influence of student
college major and career choice
– Negative messages from people with
emotional influence difficult to
overcome.
Root Causes
• School Climate
– Nontraditional faculty and staff
– Acceptable behavior in hallways,
cafeteria, school events, busses, etc.
– Administration and staff support and
encouragement
– Extracurricular activities
Root Causes
• Career Guidance Materials and
Practices
– More than just brochures and posters
– Subtle messages
– Be careful about how you use interest
inventories
– Creating opportunities to create student
interest
Root Causes
• Access to and Participation in STEM
– Shrinking gender gap in performance
on national assessments in math and
science between boys and girls
– Still significant gaps when looking at
gender AND race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status
– Girls not translating their academic
success in STEM to careers in STEM
Root Causes
• Classroom Climate
– Fair treatment
– Sexual harassment not tolerated or
ignored
– Supportive learning environment
– Subtle messages
– Classroom location on campus
– Physical environment
Root Causes
• Curriculum Materials
– Invisibility
– Stereotyping
– Imbalance/Selectivity
– Unreality
– Fragmentation/Isolation
– Linguistic Bias
– Cosmetic Bias
– Relevance
Root Causes
• Instructional Strategies
– Questioning level and wait time
– Student/teacher interaction and
feedback
– Classroom management
– Cooperative learning design
– Expectations and assessment
Root Causes
• Student Attitudes/Peer Influence
– Values and beliefs
– Acceptance of differences
– Bias and stereotypes
– Peer support
– Peer harassment
Root Causes
• Student Isolation Based on Gender
– Cohort of underrepresented students in a
program are more likely to complete than
a single individual
– Individuals more likely to
• Have trouble integrating effectively in to
social structure
• Suffer decreased performance
• Drop out
Root Causes
• Support Services
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Tutoring
Child care
Transportation
Financial Aid
Books, Equipment, Tools, Clothing
Tuition
Modification of Curriculum, Equipment
Student/Teacher Aides
More
Root Causes
• Occupational Segregation and Choice
– Men’s work vs. Women’s work
– Traditional vs. nontraditional careers
– “sticky floor” vs. “glass ceiling”
– Low wages of traditionally female
occupations
– Pay equity issues
Root Causes
• Wage Potential
– Traditionally female occupations pay
significantly less that traditionally male
occupations
– When men and women are employed in
the same occupation, women on average
earn less than men.
– Nontraditional occupations for women are
typically high wage occupations
How to Identify Root Causes
• Search for most direct & highest impact
causes
• Employ a systematic evidence-based process
• Draw on current research and evaluation
• Formulate and test theories or hypotheses
• Use multiple methods and data sources
– Note, you’re likely to find multiple causes
Phase 1: Identify Potential Causes
• Review Research Literature
• Review Program/Institutional Evaluations
and Effectiveness Reviews
• Conduct Focus Groups
• Peer Benchmarking
• Interviews & Surveys
• Brainstorm
Resources available at
www.stemequitypipeline.org
• Survey Instruments
• How to Conduct Interviews
• How to Conduct Focus Groups
Other Resources
The New Look
Self-Study
Illinois Center for
Specialized
Professional
Support
Phase 2: Analyze and Evaluate
Potential Causes
Group Causes Into Two Categories:
– Group 1: Causes Within Your Control
• School scheduling
• Classroom climate
• Faculty awareness and capacity
– Group 2: Causes Outside Your Control
• Media representation
• Family demographics
Phase 3: Test and Evaluate Potential
Causes Within Your Control
Select root causes that:
– Have the strongest theory and evidence to
support them
– Focus on direct causes of performance gaps
– Address the most critical needs
– Provide the best opportunity to have high
impact on performance
– Are supported by stakeholders who will help
develop and implement solutions
(See page 17 of the OVAE Guidebook)
Which root cause do you think is the
most common barrier for students
considering a nontraditional career?
1. Career guidance
practices
2. Instructional strategies
3. Role models
4. Early exposure
5. Self-efficacy
6. School climate
7. Parental/Family support
8. Peer influence
STEP 1
Document
Performance Results
STEP 5
Implement
Solutions
STEP 2
Identify
Root Causes
The Five
Step
Process
STEP 4
Pilot Test and
Evaluate
Best Solutions
STEP 3
Choose
Best Solutions
Next Webinars
• Wednesday, December 17, 2008 2pm ET
– Stereotype Threat
• Impact on girls performance in math
• How teachers can alleviate the effect
• Tuesday, January 13, 2009 2pm ET
– Step Three: Identifying Effective Strategies
• Effective strategies to eliminate root causes for the
low participation and completion of women and
girls in STEM related career and technical
education programs
Questions?
National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity
Mimi Lufkin
Executive Director
P.O. Box 369
Cochranville, PA 19330
610-593-8038 phone
610-593-7283 fax
[email protected]