Engineering Identity in Girls' Schools: What the Research Says and What It Looks Like in Practice
Meeting Times
- October 29 at 4:00 p.m. EDT / October 30 at 7:00 a.m. AEDT
- November 5 at 4:00 p.m. EDT / November 6 at 8:00 a.m. AEDT
- November 12 at 4:00 p.m. EDT / November 13 at 8:00 a.m. AEDT
- November 19 at 4:00 p.m. EDT / November 20 at 8:00 a.m. AEDT
Facilitator: Dr. Stacy Klein-Gardner, Executive Director, Engineering for US All (e4usa)
Most girls who leave engineering behind don't leave because they can't do it. Multi-year survey data from Engineering for US All (e4usa) partner schools points to one finding that stands out: a year of engineering coursework closes the confidence gap between girls and boys — but not the aspiration gap. Girls come to believe they can do engineering. Fewer come to believe it is for them.
This four-week series takes up that gap directly. Together we'll examine what the research reveals about how school and classroom environments shape engineering identity, then turn to practice: how failure and iteration can be designed to build confidence rather than erode it, what changes when students design for a real stakeholder instead of a hypothetical one, and how schools build the community of mentors and partners that makes engineering feel like a real path rather than an elective.
Each session pairs research with a classroom-ready protocol you can use with students the following week. Come with your own context in hand — this is a working conversation among colleagues, and the questions you bring will shape where we go.