The article “There's need to make science, mathematics and technology courses female friendly” of the blogger is being reproduced for wider dissemination.
The article was earlier published at the portal merinews.com [1] on 06 November, 2015.
It has been often articulated during conferences and seminars that in India, there is a severe under-representation of women in both science and technology education and employment. Also, the main reason attributed to such a situation is that the gender roles were quite entrenched in society and women are deemed fit for professions like teaching, nursing and medicine, but never for hard science and technology.
However, serious pedagogues and advocates of feminist pedagogy believe that girls are attracted towards mathematics, hard sciences and technology because the subject structures and teaching-learning methods are highly masculinised. The issue of gender equity needs to be addressed in the areas of science, mathematics and technology education, employment, advocacy and social policy.
I think, we must make a beginning at the school level to de-sexing science and mathematics education instead of continuing the stereotypes. Hitherto some attention is being paid to make gender sensitivity and equity as a cross-cutting issue in the primary education projects, but that is too superficial to make a serious dent. A multi-pronged strategy is needed to address the most glaring gender disparity in science and technology education and employment.
Given the male dominated educational context of science education, technology education and employment, gender equity efforts need to be given more attention and support. The issue also needs to be taken up at societal forums because of iniquitous integration of females in the families and society.
Though there have been successful examples of female students in male-dominated science, mathematics and technology education, but, reasons for such successes are attributed to the social network and family support, which are mere exceptions despite female-unfriendly educational practices and approaches based on abstraction and competition being followed in such institutes.
Researchers have proved that both men and women learn equally well through cooperative and collaborative learning. Thus there is a need to actively encourage more girls to study science, mathematics and technology, learning environment of mutuality and use extensively method based on cooperation, collaboration, group learning, caring and sharing.
Too many girls are being lost from science, mathematics and technology education beyond the school stage due to competitive learning environment and faulty instructional methods. At the international level, the concern about lack of women in technology has been expressed for more than two decades and a wide variety of female-friendly innovations have been attempted successfully, which need to be adapted, institutionalised and expanded.
Comments