Children’s evaluations of peers who confront gender bias in science contexts

Abstract

Beliefs about gender and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) abilities emerge early in childhood and negatively impact STEM belonging and motivation. This study examines how children and adolescents evaluate and reason about peers who confront gender bias in the context of science leadership opportunities within peer groups. Using individual interviews, an initial sample of ethnically and racially diverse 8- to 14-year-olds (N = 28, Mage = 10.99, SDage = 1.98) were shown vignettes about a group of kids their age at a science competition and were asked to give predictions, evaluations, and reasoning about the characters in the story. Initial results show that children and adolescents expected peers disadvantaged by bias (M = 4.57, SD = 1.26) to be more likely to confront the group's bias than peers advantaged by the bias (M = 4.07, SD = 1.25). However, participants viewed peers advantaged by bias as more effective in their confrontations (M = 4.46, SD = 1.29) compared to peers disadvantaged by bias (M = 4.11, SD = 1.13). This pattern was particularly strong when girls are the group disadvantaged by bias, but not when boys are the disadvantaged group. These preliminary results provide initial evidence that children understand that individuals occupying different positions in a system of bias differ in their likelihood of challenging such bias, but also in their effectiveness in changing the bias in the future. Results also suggest children recognition of the asymmetry of gender and status in STEM contexts. This study contributes important insights into children’s developing capacities to make science spaces more inclusive.