‘I don’t find it hard!’ They defied the gendered norm in science!

ABSTRACT

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects offered as a discipline in schools demand that learners engage in critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity and innovation. The subjects develop logical thinking, information literacy and exploration, all essential skills to survive work-life demands in the 21st century. The reality however is that STEM is perceived as challenging to master and constructed as a masculine discipline. Therefore, there is a high prevalence of gender stereotypes affecting female access. While gendered beliefs and practices are known to reduce access to STEM, research does not accentuate the positive on women and girls that have broken the barriers in science as the few studies are predominantly from the West. However, increasingly, Kenya National Examination Council results indicate the rise of women in STEM. A selection of successful girls and teachers in a public secondary school in Taita Taveta County, Kenya was taken. Drawing from focus group discussions,interviews and documents, the qualitative study demonstrates an invincible trend where an interplay of positive influences, strong self-efficacy and motivation have become anchors toward girls’ successful engagement in STEM. Findings confirm the postulates of the expectancy-value theory that students’ self-concepts and intrinsic value determine their aspirations, subject choices and achievement.

KEYWORDS:

• Girls and STEM
• science engagement
• qualitative

Acknowledgement

We appreciate the teachers, administrators and students at Juhudi School (pseudonym) for their participation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics statement

This work was cleared by the Ethics Review Committee of the Aga Khan University-Institute for Educational Development, East Africa.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a post graduate scholarship from the Aga Khan University.