Parent-child conversations about science

Harvard University, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

The National Science Foundation (2000) argues that workers must have basic science and technology knowledge for employment in the US workforce. In adolescence girls take fewer science and math course than boys and thus, may be disqualifying themselves from many careers. This research project examines how parents and children mutually influence children's decision-making about academic courses to examine socialization reasons why there may be fewer girls than boys taking high school science courses. Participants will consist of 11 and 13 year-old girls and boys and their parents from the Boston metropolitan area. Mother-child and father-child data will be collected separately. Parents and children selections will be analyzed separately for children and parents using ANOVAs with gender as a between subjects variable. Regressions will be conducted also to examine what type of affect is related to decisions to make different subjects. Finally, using quantitative methodology children and parents will be interviewed to investigate their appropriation of each other's beliefs.