GENDER IN THE GEOSCIENCES: MODEL OF DEPARTMENTAL PRACTICES ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF FEMALE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

The proportion of women earning undergraduate geoscience degrees has remained about 40% for 13 years. Little research has investigated why women major in geoscience or how women’s choices differ from men’s choices to select and persist in a geoscience degree. In a three-year National Science Foundation study, we are filling this research gap by studying why female and male students major in the geosciences and why some geoscience programs are more successful than others at recruiting and retaining female students. We present a model of departmental practices that may be associated with the recruitment and retention of women.

We collected interview data from geoscience faculty and students in six public university geoscience departments. Four sites had a low proportion of female degree recipients (< 38%), and two had a high proportion of female degree recipients (> 48%).

Two low sites used primarily faculty-centered approaches in undergraduate teaching, had limited opportunities for and a low number of undergraduate students involved in research, and placed limited importance and/or offered limited opportunities for faculty and undergraduate students to interact outside of class. Two low sites used a blend of faculty- and student-centered approaches to undergraduate teaching, and had moderate student research opportunities and faculty-student outside interaction. The two high sites used many student-centered approaches to teaching, had extensive opportunities for and a high number of undergraduate students involved in research, and featured many opportunities for faculty-student interaction outside of class.

Our findings show that a higher proportion of degrees go to female students where there is a prevalence of student-centered teaching, undergraduate research, and faculty-student outside interactions. At this time we do not fully understand the causal relationships among departmental practices and higher female graduation rates.