When she taught third grade in Houston, Summer Robinson invited a friend, a female mechanical engineer at Chevron, to visit her class. She wanted to introduce students, especially girls, to a STEM practitioner who didn’t conform to the socially awkward stereotype in popular culture.
“She communicates really well, and the kids just loved it so much,” Robinson said. “I don’t think they totally knew what an engineer was, but they understood that they help build things.”
Such exposure can help schools overcome gender stereotypes that form not long after children start school, according to a new international study from the American Institutes for Research.
Based on a review of nearly 100 studies from 33 countries, the analysis shows that by age 6, kids already perceive boys to be better than girls at computer science and engineering. Among girls, such beliefs only grow more entrenched over time.
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