Perception of Lebanese Middle School Students ...

Perception of Lebanese Middle School Students about Engineering Grace Abou-Jaoude, Ph.D, A.M. ASCE

Michelle Najjar

Department of Civil Engineering Lebanese American University Byblos, Lebanon [email protected]

Department of Civil Engineering Lebanese American University Byblos, Lebanon

Abstract— In a male-dominated Middle Eastern society, female academics and professionals have come a long way in recent decades, challenging long-held stereotypes about women holding careers in fields of science and technology. Despite these gains, however, female enrollment in Lebanese engineering programs remains low—less than a quarter of all engineering students, according to a recent study. The current research, at the Lebanese American University (LAU), assesses the reasons that are possibly discouraging female students from pursuing engineering careers while targeting to make a step towards improving female representation. Encouraging female students to pursue careers in engineering requires an understanding of what young female students already know about the field, as well as recognizing what might spur their interest in choosing engineering professions over the more traditionally femalepopulated fields of literature and humanities. As a first step, a school survey was conducted to investigate and assess the current knowledge of female middle school students about engineering, with special emphasis on civil engineering. The main focus of the school survey was to identify the level of awareness of career alternatives, gender-related restrictions, parental guidance, social factors, and cultural factors that might affect the career choice. This paper summarizes the results of the survey and analyses the main factors that may help in encouraging women to join engineering schools. Keywords-survey, gender restrictions, career choice, female representation, engineering schools

I.

INTRODUCTION

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have been the focus of attention of many researchers in the past decades. STEM is internationally regarded as critical to a nation’s economy [1]. The actual or impending shortages of scientists and engineers, especially in industrialized countries, have triggered a global mission that is two-fold: 1) identifying the reasons that are causing this decline, and 2) defining the action steps that will lead to fostering once again the interest in science and technology [2]. According to [2], the reasons for this decline have been attributed to the unwillingness of young people to pursue careers in STEM fields, the high dropout rates at colleges and universities, as well as the persistently low number of women enrolled in STEM fields. These symptoms have raised awareness among government officials, industry leaders, and

educators who are now seeking initiatives that can reverse this present trend. STEM education in K-12 curriculum has become the focal point that is believed to prepare students towards selecting career paths in related specialties. Mentoring programs at universities have been initiated in order to address the causes for dropouts from engineering and science schools. Finally, research is still being directed towards identifying the reasons behind the low numbers of female enrollment in science and engineering fields. It is generally believed that females represent the “untapped reservoir” that is likely to alleviate the concerns and actually create a more diverse workforce ([1], [2], and [3]). This paper will focus on the last topic and will investigate the female representation in Lebanese engineering programs. II.

UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM

Whether in the professional or in the academic world, women from around the world have shown perseverance in breaking the long-held stereotypes about them holding careers in fields of science and engineering. Despite these achievements, the percentage of female enrollment in scienceand technology-related degrees remains low. In the year 2000, Dr. Farkhonda Hassan, Professor at the American University in Cairo (AUC), reviewed the enrollment trends of women at different science and technology universities in the Arab countries. The supplementary material for her study showed that, in Lebanon, the percentage of women studying engineering ranged from 17.5% in 1993-1994 to 20% in 19961997, while the percentages were higher in other science disciplines such as Public Health (87% and 83%, respectively) and Pharmacy (75% and 70%, respectively). Hassan concluded: “Women tend preferentially to enroll in the life sciences and chemistry, with far fewer studying physics, mathematics, and engineering.” Reference [2] shows that, a century after being first admitted to German universities, women now represent more than 50% of total enrollment. Based on 2007 data, [2] shows that the percentage of women enrolled in engineering varies between 8.3% in electrical engineering to 23.6% in civil engineering. Looking closer at the numbers of women in the engineering programs at the Lebanese American University (LAU) from 2003-2007, one can see that they closely match the results found by [4]. The female to male ratio seems to be increasing,

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but the percentage of women pursuing engineering degrees still remains very low. Fig. 1 presents the graduation numbers for the academic years 2003-2004 to 2007-2008. Fig. 2 shows the enrollment number for the academic years 2004-2005 to 2007-2008. It is clear from both figures that men continue to outnumber women with large ratios in all programs.

450

400 All Engineering Majors 350

Number of Degrees Earned

Women underrepresentation in the engineering disciplines in Lebanon may be further explained by simply comparing the percentage of female achievers before pursuing advanced math and science courses (i.e., in the tenth grade) to their respective percentage after their separation by area of emphasis (i.e., in the twelfth grade) in high school. According to the statistics for the academic year 2006-2007 compiled by the Center for Educational Research and Development (CERD) in Lebanon, female students in the “general sciences” section constitute 55.8% of the number of students in the tenth grade, but the percentage decreases to 29.8% in the twelfth grade. At the same time, the percentage of female students in the “literature and humanities” section increases to 83%.

Bachelor's degree earned in all engineering fields at LAU, by gender, 2003-2007

250

200

150

100

50

It may be worthwhile at this point to present an overview about the Lebanese high school (secondary) education system in order to familiarize the reader with the choices that students have prior to entering their secondary years of education (Grades 10-12). In Grade 10, Lebanese students are typically divided among four areas of concentration as follows: 1234-

300

0 Females

Males

Figure 1. Bachelor's degree earned in the engineering fields at LAU, by gender, 2003-2007

Literature and Humanities (H) Economics and Sociology (ES) General Science (GS) Life Science (LS)

Enrollment in the engineering fields at LAU, by gender, 2004-2007 2004-2005

Advanced math and biology classes are intensive in the GS and LS areas of concentration, respectively. Depending on the student aptitude in middle school, and on the official results of the Brevet examination, high school directors usually decide on the best path that fits each student. Students have a limited advantage in selecting their area of concentration. They are expected to have worked towards a specific path throughout middle school, culminating their efforts in the Brevet examination. Knowing that mathematics is essentially important when it comes to engineering fields, many researchers have shown that girls usually have a higher aptitude for mathematical concepts during their preadolescent years. Reference [1] summarize the results of a US study that identified the ratios of seventh and eighth graders boys and girls who score greater than 700 on the SAT math section. They show that “the ratio of this extremely select group has dramatically declined from 13:1 [5] to around 3:1 in recent years [6];[7];[8]”. Reference [9], on the other hand, suggests that “an explicit disinterest in math and science is developed in young women during their early adolescence merely because of social pressure”. In particular, the underlying socio-cultural reasons for Arab women’s underrepresentation in science and engineering are deep and complex. Dr. Hassan notes: “In many Muslim countries, gender-based discrimination, coupled with social

2005-2006

2006-2007

2007-2008

100% 90% 80%

Percentages

70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Females

Males

Figure 2. Enrollment in the engineering fields at LAU, by gender, 20042007

and cultural barriers, limits access and participation of women in higher education.” She adds: “Women are raised and educated in a male-dominated society with very traditional attitudes and constraints. These vary greatly not only from one Muslim country to the next, but also between, for example, urban


and rural areas of the same country. Other factors, well-known to Western women, also exist, such as the challenges of combining responsibilities for a household and family (usually extended family) with a professional career.” Thus, cultural expectations and social restrictions on women, combined with outdated stereotypes of women’s roles and abilities, often dissuade girls from considering careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics as professional options. Those expectations and restrictions have a potential to also affect retention of female engineering students, who may not find adequate role models and peer support causing them to drop out without graduating. The low ratio of women in engineering is, therefore, closely linked to their early choice in high school to turn away from advanced math and science courses. It may be also linked to the lack of support and encouragement for those who have enrolled. III.

Gender Distribution F

M 110

99

92 78

71

Grade 8

Grade 9

Male Students 46%

OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENT WORK

This paper presents the results of the investigation that was conducted in different Lebanese schools in order to assess the current knowledge of female middle and high school students about engineering, with emphasis on civil engineering. The schools were carefully chosen to be co-educational institutions to obtain a non-biased survey with respect to gender distribution. The aim of the school survey was to identify the level of awareness of students with respect to career alternatives, any gender-related restrictions, and the degree of parental guidance, social factors, and cultural factors that may affect their career choice.

Grade 10

Female Students 54%

Figure 3. Gender distribution of the school survey sample

Female Study Plan 100% ES

GS

LS

90% 80% 70%

Although the survey was distributed to five grade levels (Grades 8 to 12), the focus in this paper will be on the answers of 553 students who were enrolled in Grades 8, 9, and 10 only. The number of students per grade level and the percentages of females and males are shown in Fig. 3. The survey was adapted from the surveys prepared by the Assessing Women and Men in Engineering (AWE) Project. A large database of surveys used as STEM assessment tools can be found at http://www.aweonline.org. The school survey was composed of three major parts: a) tell us about you, b) tell us what you know about engineering careers, and c) tell us about your goals. The following paragraphs present the results obtain from each part. A. Tell Us About You The first section of the survey gathered information about the students, their study plans when entering high school, and their goals after high school. Figs. 4 and 5 show that the preference of female students to join the general sciences (GS) area reduces as they get closer to making the decision (37% in Grade 8 to 22% in Grade 10), whereas the preference of male students slightly increases from 45% in Grade 8 to 53% in Grade 10. This is in line with the findings of [9]. Figs. 6 and 7 report that students are, on average and across all grades, aware of the need to prepare themselves to enter college. By assessing the data according to gender, it seems that

Percentage

SURVEY RESULTS

60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Grade 8

Grade 9

Grade 10

Figure 4. Female student study plan for high school years

Male Study Plan 100% ES

GS

LS

90% 80% 70%

Percentage

IV.

103

60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Grade 8

Grade 9

Grade 10

Figure 5. Male student study plan for high school years


Female career plan after high school 100%

University in Lebanon

50% 40% 30% 20% 10%

Response of surveyed males

50% 40% 30% 20%

Grade 10

Male career plan after high school Don't Know

90%

60%

Grade 9

100%

M

70%

10%

Technical School

80%

University abroad

70%

University in Lebanon Others (full-time job)

60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

0% Grade 8

Grade 9

Grade 8

Grade 10

Overall response of surveyed students

100%

100% 90%

Grade 10

Highest level of education completed by parents

Awareness about the importance of math for future career, by school grade F

Grade 9

Figure 9. Career plan of boys after graduating from high schools

Figure 6. Level of awareness of boys and girls about the importance of preparing for college

M

80% 70%

Percentage

Others (full-time job)

60%

Grade 8

80%

Percentage

University abroad

70%

Figure 8. Career plan of girls after graduating from high schools

100% F

Technical School

80%

0%

Awareness about the importance of preparatory classes for undergraduate studies, by school grade

90%

Don't Know

90%

Response of surveyed females

girls have a better understanding about the importance of being prepared for college. In Grade 10, 64% of the girls as opposed to 54% of the boys are aware that they should be prepared to enter college. Mathematics is perceived by both, boys and girls, as very important for their undergraduate studies. There is no substantial difference between genders with respect to their level of awareness about the importance of math courses. Figs. 8 and 9 show the response of females and males, separately, with regards to the question about their future plans. We observe an increase in the number of students who plan to join a university in Lebanon. It is particularly interesting to note that eighth grade students seem more willing to go to a university in Europe or America. The general trend that students plan to join a university after high school is reinforced by the fact that about 80% of the students’ parents have completed college and graduate studies, as shown in Fig. 10.

60% 50% 40% 30%

90% 80% 70% 60%

College, 49%

50% 40% 30%

Graduate Studies, 40%

High School, 25%

20%

Others, 3%

10% 0%

20%

Education Level

10% 0% Grade 8

Grade 9

Figure 10. Education level of parents

Grade 10

Figure 7. Level of awareness of boys and girls about the importance importance of mathematics for college

B.

Tell Us What You Know About Engineering Careers Questions in this section of the survey asked students what they know about the work of engineers and particularly civil engineers. Reponses were similar between males and females. Figs. 11 and 12 clearly show the perception of school students with regards to the work of an engineer and a civil engineer,


Perception of school students about the work of an engineer MALES

FEMALES 16% 16%

I don’t know what engineers do

12% 12%

Mainly work on things that have nothing to do with me

48% 41%

Can choose to do many different kinds of jobs

79% 76%

Work on things that help the world 48% 45%

Mainly work with other people to solve problems

72% 69%

Mainly work on machines and computers Figure 11. Perception of young people about the work of an engineer

Perception of school students about the work of a civil engineer MALES

FEMALES

11% 14%

I don’t know what civil engineers do

17% 15%

Mainly work on things that have nothing to do with me

62% 57%

Mainly work on construction sites

75% 65%

Use computer technologies to design structures 38% 31%

Can choose to work on many different specialized fields

74% 70%

Work on everything from tunnels, to highways, to water

79% 70%

Design and supervise the creation of structures

79% 79%

Construct buildings and homes

Figure 12. Perception of young people about the work of a civil engineer

respectively. More than 70% of the surveyed boys and girls know that engineers work on things that help the world. They also know that engineers use machines and computers to do their job. However, students did not show the same response rate when asked about teamwork and multidisciplinary work. The responses to the questions that addressed the work of civil engineers showed that students have a very good understanding of what civil engineers do. More than 70% agreed that civil engineers construct buildings and homes, design and supervise

the creation of structures, and work on everything from tunnels, to highways, to water. They are aware that computer technologies play a major role in design, and it was not surprising to see that nearly 60% agree that civil engineers mainly work on construction sites. Students are also not aware of the different specialization fields within civil engineering. It seems that they have a general understanding of the job without knowing the particularities of every area of emphasis.


engineer or have at least talked with someone about becoming an engineer. Rather than having these two factors influence the decision towards pursuing a career in engineering, we clearly see that the young generation is shunning away. Finally, Fig. 15 combines the data presented in [2] with the results obtained from this survey to show that the willingness of young Lebanese people to pursue careers in engineering falls in the same range as many of the European young generation.

C. Tell Us What About Your Goals This section of the survey particularly addressed the future goals of the students. Fig. 13 shows that many students indicated that they do not plan to pursue a bachelor’s degree in engineering and specifically civil engineering. More than 70% of the surveyed sample answered that their decision to pursue or not a career in engineering/civil engineering was not affected by gender. This result seems to reduce the effect of gender-related discrepancy at least among the young boys and girls. Fig. 14 shows that a large percentage of the surveyed kids know someone who is an

Willingness to study engineering and effect of gender on choice Yes

Don't Know

No

Be an engineer

Female Response

Be a civil engineer

Be an engineer

Male Response Be a civil engineer 0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Percentages

Figure 13. Willingness to study engineering by gender

Possible Influencing Factors Yes

Female Response

No

Has anyone talked to you about becoming an engineer? Do you know anyone who is an engineer?

Has anyone talked to you about becoming an engineer?

Male Response

Do you know anyone who is an engineer? 0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Percentages

Figure 14. Influencing factor on students’ decision to pursue engineering careers


Willingness of young people to study engineering, modified after Becker (2010) Yes Don't Know EU 27 Slovakia

France

Germany

40

53

6 8 7

Netherlands

61

22

17

Italy

57

38

15

Spain

28

60

12

Poland

35

42

24

Finland

Sweden

54

34

11

29

57

33

59 56

36

9

53

40

6

United Kingdom

8

32

59

Austria

7

30

54

Lebanon

66

No

159

76

Figure 15. Willingness of young people to study engineering, modified after Becker (2010)

V.

CONCLUSION

The reasons that may be discouraging Lebanese young people from pursuing engineering careers have been presented. The focus was on gender differences in order to compare to the global trends. The results showed that disinterest in pursuing general sciences, i.e. advanced mathematics classes, is clear among Lebanese female students. Although they are aware of the work of engineers, females have consistently drifted away from advanced math in high school, a movement also known in other countries [2], [10]. When asked if gender affects their decision, the response was a big no. This meant that high school girls are not withdrawing from the traditionally populated men fields simply because of gender. The question that is now raised is whether this dislike is a result of career orientation or difficulties in mathematical achievement. In the US study, [1] demonstrated “the effects of societal beliefs and the learning environment on girls’ achievements and interest in science and math”. Whatever the underlying reasons are in Lebanon, it is clear that action steps at the school level are necessary. The involvement of teachers and parents is paramount in creating a supporting environment for intellectual growth of females [1]. This research also highlighted the major role of society in supporting, accepting, and retaining young people in engineering careers. Although students do not believe that gender is affecting their career plans, contact with engineers did not spur interest neither for males nor females. Reasons behind this phenomenon should be assessed in order to identify the alternate career paths that the young generation is planning. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors acknowledge the funding from the Engineering Information Foundation for this research. Future work based on

the results presented in this paper will help in changing the status quo and further improving the representation of women in engineering careers. The authors also thank the generous support of the Lebanese American University for two undergraduate research assistants who have been working on this project for the past year. REFERENCES [1]

Hill, C., Corbett, C., and St. Rose, A. (2010) “Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics” Report published by the American Association of University Women (AAUW), Feb. 2010 [2] Becker, F. (2010) “Why don’t young people want to become engineers? Rational reasons for disappointing decisions”, European Journal of Engineering Education, Vol 35, No. 4, August 2010, 349-366 [3] Heller, R. and Martin, C.D. (1994) “Attracting Young Minority Women to Engineering and Science: Necessary Characteristics for Exemplary Programs”, IEEE Transactions on Education, Vol. 37, No. 1, Feb, 1994 [4] Hassan, F. (2000) Islamic Women in Science, Science Magazine, Vol. 290, No. 5489, pp 55-56 [5] Benbow, C. P., & Stanley, J. C. (1983). Sex differences in mathematical reasoning ability: More facts. Science, 222, 1029–31 [6] Brody, L. E., & Mills, C. J. (2005). Talent search research: What have we learned? High Ability Studies, 16(1), 97–111 [7] Halpern, D. F., Aronson, J., Reimer, N., Simpkins, S., Star, J. R., & Wentzel, K. (2007). Encouraging girls in math and science (NCER 2007-2003). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Research. [8] Halpern, D. F., Benbow, C. P., Geary, D. C., Gur, R. C., Hyde, J. S., & Gernsbacher, M. A. (2007). The science of sex differences in science and mathematics. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 8(1), 1– 51 [9] Edwards, C. (1991), “Implications of the computer culture for women in color” In Search for Gender Free Paradigms for Computer Science Education. The NECC Monograph Series, Eugene Oregon; Int. Soc. for Technol. in Educ., Nov 1991 [10] Eisen, B. (2009). Inside higher ed [online]. Available from http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/07/22/stem [Accessed October 2010]
