Styles of Cognition: Girls Learning Mathematics Women Choosing IT

摘要

Mathematics is a human construction and learning mathematics is a social process (Ernest, 1991). Western society is saturated with numbers. Quantification, rationality and abstraction are intricately connected, increasingly embedded and highly valued in our scientific and technological world. Competence in mathematics has long been identified as a critical skill directly related to educational and occupational choices. Yet compared with men, fewer women elect to take advanced-level mathematics courses. If mathematics is presented in a way that alienates many girls, as suggested by twenty years of gender and mathematics research, then many women may continue not to pursue technical careers, including IT. If constructed knowing is women's preference, then, and assuming we want them to know, we need to present mathematics, along with other technical disciplines, to women in a different way and accept another way of knowing. Quantitative-oriented courses such as mathematics can open the gates or block the way for female students interested in scientific and technical careers. Increasing our understanding of course enrollment patterns and career decisions is a crucial first step in designing appropriate intervention strategies for the under-representa-tion of women in IT.