Lab coats and little girls: The science experiences of women biology and education majors at a private university

This study explores the science experiences, past and present, of a group of college women who are majoring in biology and a group of college women who are majoring in education at the same private, suburban university. It seeks to highlight the events that influenced some women to pursue a science major in college and those that contributed to some women's science avoidance.;Two undergraduate environments were studied: the animal physiology lab, a required elective in the course sequence for biology majors, and the science methods lab, a required course toward the end of the professional sequence for elementary education. All students were juniors or seniors.;Weekly visits to each lab continued throughout two semesters. Formal and informal interviews were conducted with each professor and with three women from each lab. Biology women interviewed were pursuing careers in medicine, research, and teaching. Education women had successfully completed 4 years of high school science. Data consisted of log notes from each lab, interview transcripts, and the students' written narratives of lifetime science experiences. Data were analyzed within and across groups.;The precollege science educations of both groups were substantially similar. The biology women, unlike the education women, recalled outstanding female high school biology teachers and pivotal out-of-school science experiences. The education women reported no memory of out-of-school science experiences. The biology women reported the influence of the prestige of science in choosing a biology major. The education women reported that lack of prestige for elementary education was discouraging. Both groups were equally dedicated to their chosen careers. The education women had viewed science as rigid, boring, and remote from daily life; these attitudes changed, however, in science methods lab.;The biology lab was a spacious, well-equipped facility. The science methods lab was an overcrowded, ill-equipped basement room. These facilities appear to reflect the status of the two professions in the university and society at large. Pedagogy in the biology lab was laissez-faire and impersonal and followed the lab manual strictly. Pedagogy in the science methods lab was exploratory, collaborative, and affective; integration these methods may support more positive attitudes toward science at the precollege level. Gender-related issues regarding women as scientists were documented.