Author: Odeica (Page 9 of 13)

Topic: Is there a way to bridge the racial and gender gap within the Aerospace engineering field, by implementing STEM Programs in disadvantaged neighborhoods?

Know: There’s not a lot that I know about my possible research topic. However, it’s a known fact that most Aerospace engineers are either Asian or Caucasian men as they were given better opportunities to succeed vs the other racial groups who are placed at a disadvantage when it comes to getting a job in the aerospace engineering industry. In my opinion, lack of representation plays a major role in the gender and racial gap that we see today in the Aerospace Engineering field. Growing up I was really interested in becoming an Aerospace Engineer but there weren’t a lot of people who looked like me, represented in the media so I kind of lost interest.

Want:

1. Other than racism and systematic oppression, what contributed to the racial and gender gap within the Aerospace engineering field?
2. What we as everyday citizens can do to somewhat bridge the racial and gender gap within the Aerospace engineering field?
3. What can the Government do to ensure that everyone who wishes to enter the Aerospace engineering field is provided with equal opportunities?

Research:

When studying the gender and race intersectoral effect in the U.S. engineering workforce, researchers found that women only represent 15% of the engineering workforce. While women are also more likely than men to leave engineering altogether. This study further analyzes this situation, recognizing that women are a demographically varied group and questioning how differences among them might be reflected in engineering participation outcomes. http://genderandset.open.ac.uk/index.php/genderandset/article/view/588

When studying students’ choice and persistence in Aerospace Engineering, researchers found that Hispanic men and women starting in engineering choose aerospace engineering at the highest rates of respectively 13.3 and 12.0%. Aerospace engineering graduation rates lag other disciplines, at best, by nine percentage points among Hispanic females and, at worst, by 24 percentage points among Black females. Even though aerospace engineering has a low graduation rate in general but for black students, the rate is even lower, less than 12%. It’s estimated that one black woman graduates per program every 12.5 years.

https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/1.I010343

Learned:

My research highlighted the thing I already suspected to be some of the contributions to the racial and gender gap in the Aerospace engineering field. However, I learned that more people of color entering STEM programs are most likely to choose Aerospace Engineering as a major, yet they are less likely to graduate with a degree in their intended field.

Still want to know:

1. What deters people of color from getting a degree in aerospace engineering?
2. Other than racism and systematic oppression, what contributed to the racial and gender gap within the Aerospace engineering field?

As a kid, I was curious about outer space. However, I didn’t want to be an astronaut as I had this trembling fear of dying in space, in a void of darkness miles away from earth and the things and people I love the most. Even though I did not want to go to space I still wanted something to do with it, so when I found out about Aerospace Engineering I was really intrigued. As my curiosity grew, I found myself doing research about outer space which led me to books, movies, videos, and articles. Over the years, I have gotten less and less interested in being an Aerospace Engineer, there was not a specific event that I could remember that made me lose interest. Thinking back, I feel like I start to lose interest as I grew and started to explore different things and I guess I just did not stick; you know like one of those things that you just grow out of. I would not say I had a bad experience with the education system when it came to providing opportunities for me to explore my interest. In science class, I would learn about astrology and the different wonders of the universe. We also had science fairs and projects that helped piqued my interest in outer space. Even though the education system helped answer some of the questions I had about outer space, there were still a few questions left unanswered. One thing I think my school could have done to help me explore my interest was to get people in different professions to come to the school and talk to the students about what their job entails. I am not saying that we did not have professionals that came and talked to us, but it was just people from your everyday profession doctor, lawyers, and teachers. However, for the past few months, I have once again found myself doing research about outer space when I have nothing to do or when I am bored. Now I am more interested in extraterrestrial life and the possibility of life on other planets. I am interested in seeing where this new curiosity takes me.

1. “Children, full of questions about things that interest them, are learning not to ask them at school. Against a background of tests and targets, unscripted queries go mainly unanswered and learning opportunities are lost.” From a very young age, kids are taught to silence their curiosity in the classroom as their questions and wonders that did not align with what is on the lesson plan. This can be extremely discouraging for a young child having to suppress their interests can lead to a lack of inquisitiveness.
2. “Further, the researchers found that when it came to good school performance, the ability to stay focused and, for example, not be distracted by a thunderstorm, was less important than curiosity – the questions children might have about that storm. Teachers who concentrate on developing focus and good behaviour because of the links to good academic performance, now need to take on board that developing curiosity could be even more important.” I find it very interesting that teachers would silence a child’s curiosity so they could get through their lesson plan. As they think developing focus and good behavior lead to good academic performance when research has proven that the most effective way for a child to achieve good academic performance is through exploring their curiosity.
3. “Promoting curiosity in children, especially those from environments of economic disadvantage, may be an important, under-recognised way to address the achievement gap. Promoting curiosity is a foundation for early learning that we should be emphasizing more when we look at academic achievement.” This is very eye-opening for me. I did not know the full extent of the role curiosity plays in the educational system. Research has once again proven that curiosity is the most effective way a child can learn. Environments, where curiosity is emphasized, can bridge the achievement gap between the different social classes of people and children.
4. “When you visit schools in many parts of the world it can be difficult to remember they are full of active, intellectual children, because no one is talking about their inner mental lives. How well they behave, and how they perform seem much more important to many people in the educational communities. Often educational bureaucracies have shunted curiosity to the side.” To tell a kid to stop being curious about something is impossible, it is like telling someone to turn off their brain. As humans, we tend to want to find our own answers and define what is right and wrong in our perspective. Forcing someone to suppress their interest is not good for their mental health since you are basically being forced to hide a part of yourself.
5. “School kills curiosity. When do children get to ask questions about things that interest them? As soon as they are at primary school they have to shut up and learn. It’s not the fault of teachers. They have so many targets to meet.” I can help but wonder what my life would be like if I was given the opportunity to explore all my curiosities as a kid. In class, I tend to shy off when the teacher asks a question or even when a simple discussion erupts. And I wonder if it is because I never to the chance to truly explore my interests.