July 18, 1994 Contact: Jennifer McNulty (408/459-2495)

UC SANTA CRUZ RECEIVES $900,000 GRANT FOR THREE-YEAR PROJECT TO IMPROVE GIRLS' MATH AND SCIENCE EDUCATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--Girls and young women are consistently shortchanged in mathematics and science education by a system that favors boys and young men, but researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, are launching a major three-year study this summer to reverse the trend.

Funded by a three-year, $903,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, the team of UCSC researchers is launching an ambitious program designed to improve the way mathematics and science are taught to girls.

"Sex-role stereotypes in school and in the workplace consistently portray mathematics and science as male domains," says Maria Eugenia Matute-Bianchi, an associate professor of education and anthropology at UCSC and the lead investigator on the project. "Study after study shows that teachers interact more often with boys, they praise boys more, and they are more responsive to male requests for help."

This pattern has a particularly devastating and cumulative effect on girls' achievement in math and science, where the cultural stereotypes are already so debilitating, says Matute-Bianchi. The result is that by the end of secondary school, boys have learned more math than girls, they are more confident about their problem-solving abilities, and they are better able to apply what they've learned to complex problem solving. "The origins of the problem are rooted in our childrearing practices, cultural expectations, and the schools," says Matute-Bianchi. "By shortchanging girls, we are failing to develop half of the next generation of scientists, engineers, and technology specialists."

NSF recently awarded a grant of $284,288 to begin the project this fiscal year, and an additional $619,443 is anticipated over the life of the study. Totaling $903,731, the NSF funding is among the largest commitments of support ever received by the Division of Social Sciences at UCSC.

The project, called Science and Math Equity, or SAME, will involve students, parents, teachers, and administrators from local schools in a comprehensive attempt to encourage girls to study and excel in science and math by making the subjects interesting, building school and family support, and using innovative classroom techniques to spark students' enthusiasm. An emphasis will be placed on reaching girls from underrepresented groups.

The three schools involved in the first year of the SAME project are Bay View Elementary School, Mission Hill Junior High School, and Santa Cruz High School. The project will move to additional schools in the county for the second and third years.

Working in partnership with the Santa Cruz County Office of Education and local schools, the UCSC team will:

* Host a summer mathematics/science/technology workshop for girls and teachers;

* Establish a peer-mentoring program for girls and a training program for teachers to help them promote gender equity in the classroom;

* Sponsor a family math/science workshop in which girls will engage in hands-on problem-solving activities with supportive members of their families;

* Offer an algebra course for parents and caregivers to enable them to help with homework.

Groups of 12 teachers and 60 girls from each of the three schools will work together with parents and university faculty and staff members. These teams will focus on problem-solving activities in an atmosphere that will establish the girls as equal partners, rather than the traditional adult-child relationship that places girls in the subordinate role of "helpee." The cooperative environment is critical to building girls' confidence and self- esteem, says Matute-Bianchi.

The two-week summer workshops being held this month at UCSC are the first stage of the project. They will be conducted in English and Spanish and will use Lego/Logo Construction Kits that integrate mathematics, science, technology, design, and problem solving. Lego/Logo, which was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, combines Lego blocks and the use of a simple computer-programming language to allow students to create and control simple machines that will enable them to explore subjects such as simple kinematics, robotics, and computer programming.

Project SAME participants--teachers, students, and administrators--will share their experiences with peers, potentially reaching 7,500 students and 400 teachers during the project.

Ultimately, Matute-Bianchi's team hopes to share its insights and successes with educators locally and nationally. SAME participants will work together to analyze the project and to develop a model that can be replicated elsewhere. "We want to reach others who are concerned about what's happening to girls in school," says Matute-Bianchi.

The UCSC team is made up of Matute-Bianchi; Trish Stoddart, an associate professor of education; Laurie Edwards, an assistant professor of education; and Miriam Landesman, a lecturer in mathematics and economics. They are joined in the project by Nancy Giberson, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in the Santa Cruz County Office of Education.

Editor's Note: UCSC faculty involved with the SAME project can be reached by calling Jennifer McNulty in the UCSC Office of Public Information at (408) 459-2495.

(This release is also available on UC NewsWire, the University of California's electronic news service. To access by modem, dial 1- 209-244-6971.)

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