The projected decline of available scientific personnel in the United States has become an issue of growing concern. The Task Committee on Undergraduate Science and Engineering Education of the National Science Board has expressed the view that unless the achievement and participation of women and minorities in mathematics and science is increased, the nation will be unable to meet its technical and scientific needs. This proposal seeks to identify institutional characteristics and educational programs that promote the interest and participation of women in mathematics and science. Specifically, this study examines the effect of such factors on students' experiences and attitudes towards mathematics and science at the middle grades level, a critical developmental period associated with the emergence of gender differences in these fields. Data analysis will be based on a nationally representative survey of eighth grade students, their teachers, and school administrators (National Educational Longitudinal Study, 1988), and a recently developed methodology of hierarchical linear modeling will be used to conceptualize new questions about the relationship between educational environments and gender differences in mathematics and science. This methodology will permit identification of between-school variations in such gender differences and the explanation of these variations as a function of institutional characteristics of schools. This project, which is jointly supported by the Sociology Program and the Education and Human Resources Office of Studies, Evaluation and Dissemination, will contribute to the understanding of the role of institutional factors on educational outcomes. It will also provide information to policy makers who seek to establish educational environments supportive of female achievement in mathematics and science.
