A 100-day mentoring program leads to positive shifts in girls' perceptions and attitudes towards biomechanics and related STEM disciplines.

Autor: Dick TJM; School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Electronic address: t.dick@uq.edu.au., Besomi M; School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; School of Physical Therapy, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile., Coltman CE; University of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia., Diamond LE; Griffith Centre of Biomedical and Rehabilitation Engineering (GCORE), Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia; School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia., Hall M; Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, The Kolling Institute, Sydney School of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Australia., Maharaj J; Griffith Centre of Biomedical and Rehabilitation Engineering (GCORE), Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia; School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia., Kean CO; University of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia., Barzan M; Griffith Centre of Biomedical and Rehabilitation Engineering (GCORE), Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia; School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia., Mickle KJ; Applied Sports Science, School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of biomechanics [J Biomech] 2024 Aug; Vol. 173, pp. 112244. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jul 23.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2024.112244
Abstrakt: The gender gap in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is among the widest across education and professional fields, with an underrepresentation of girls and women, particularly in engineering and biomechanics. This issue begins early in education and worsens as females progress into more senior roles. To address this gap, we designed and implemented the Biomechanics Research and Innovation Challenge (BRInC), a 100-day STEM program focused on mentoring and role modelling to engage high school girls and early-career biomechanists at key phases where they most commonly disengage in STEM. We evaluated the influence of the program on (i) identity and perceptions towards science, engineering, and biomechanics; (ii) attitudes towards biomechanics, maths and science; and (iii) attitudes towards gender bias, education and career aspirations in STEM, within high school girls following participation in the BRInC program. We observed significant and positive shifts in girls' perceptions of both biomechanics and engineering. Participation in the program appeared to lead to favourable shifts in attitudes towards biomechanics, maths, and science and fostered a positive influence on girls' education and career aspirations, igniting an interest in future research opportunities. Innovative STEM engagement programs, such as BRInC, highlight the promising potential of targeted and bespoke approaches to address the underrepresentation of females in biomechanics and STEM-related education and careers. Future programs should strive to enhance socioeconomic and cultural diversity, employ whole of life-cycle approaches by offering programs for girls and women at various phases of the STEM pathway, and prioritize impact assessments to effectively monitor progress.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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