PAVING THE WAY FOR GIRLS TO ACHIEVE EXCELLENCE IN SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & MATHS EDUCATION (STME) CLINIC FOR GIRLS. Mrs. Georgina Quaisie, National Co-Ordinator, Sciences, Technology And Mathematics Education (Stme) Clinic For Girls, Ghana Education Service. ABSTRACT The Science, Technology and Mathematics Education (STME) Clinic was instituted by the Ghana Education Service in 1987 to help improve enrolment and subsequent performance of girls in the study of science and technology related subjects in secondary schools and at higher levels of education. The goal of the STME is to help bridge the gender gap and maximize the potentials of Ghanaian women, with the express aim of increasing female representation in the field of science and technology. The main objective of the programme is to bring together a number of girls from second cycle educational institutions for a short-term intensive intervention programme. During the period, the girls interact with female scientists who are brought in as role models. Such interactions give the girls an opportunity to clear their perceptions about the woman scientist. For example, girls come to realize that it is possible to be a woman scientist and be a regular female individual, capable of maintaining normal marital relationship. In the course of the workshop, the girls visit institutions of higher learning in sciences for a better understanding of the various subject areas. They also visit industries and scientific research institutions to acquaint themselves with the various job opportunities that exist there. Such visits also offer the girls the chance to experience some of the problems one may encounter by working in male-dominated areas, thus making them aware of what they need to do and what they should expect. This way, the Ghana Education Service hopes to break the myth surrounding female scientists and pave the way to improve access, retention, persistance and performance of girls in the study of science and technology related subjects in school. For the past eight years, the Ghana Education Service, through the STME Clinics and other related programmes, has been able to introduce 1800 girls from Ghana and 8 other African countries to its annual clinic activities; reached out to over thousand pupils at basic educational levels. Through in-service training of teachers, have been able to reach 600 teachers through special orientation with the view to minimising gender bias in the classroom by using teaching approaches which make science and mathematics appeal to girls. At the onset of the project, records show that out of the total number of 3241 students who took part in GCE "A" level science examination, only 368 were girls, i.e. 11%. Five years later, in 1992, of 9417 students registered for science at the Senior Secondary School level, 2212 were girls and 7205 were boys. Thus, girls formed 23% of this number. This amounts to 76% increase in the number of girls who opt for science at secondary level. Even though the increase is appreciable, the actual number of girls studying science is still very small. Indeed considering that females form about 51% of the total population of Ghana, 23% of girls studying science at secondary level constitute a waste to national economy. However a close look at performances shows that girls perform just as well as boys and in some cases even better. The problem is that their numbers are fewer. This certainly calls for more effort in encouraging more girls to take up the sciences. BACKGROUND In 1987, the Ghana Education Service initiated a programme of action to help increase the number of girls who opt to study science at higher levels in educational institutions. The programme, known as the Science, Technology and Mathematics Education (STME) Clinic for Girls, was based on the premise that girls run away from the study of science and mathematics in school not because they are intellectually incapable of studying these or the science experience is too vast for them; but that girls do keep out of science and technologically related school subjects due to certain misconceptions and naive ideas about their participation in the sciences. It was the belief of the initiators of the programme, that if selected girls who are keen in studying science are given encouragement and exposure to the science experience, it will further their determination, help them to stay with the sciences and also enable them envisage careers in the field of science and technology. This in effect will help deal with the issue of lack of role models and minimise the amount of wastage in human resources in the area of female representation in the field of science and technology. Consequently, the Ghana Education Service, (GES) with the support of UNESCO and the Commonwealth Secretariat, organised the first Science, Technology and Mathematics Education (STME) clinic for about 150 girls drawn from Second Cycle Institutions in the Country in August 1987 at Achimota School, Accra. The STME Clinic which has since been organised yearly, was seen at the Dakar Workshop on Project 2000+ (POPSECAFRIC) in May, 1994, as a unique way of encouraging girls to study Science and Mathematics in school in an effort to popularise Science and Technological for all in Africa by the year 2000 and beyond. The importance of the problem of female under-representation in the field of science and technology can be seen in the attention being given to it at both international and local levels. Several international fora have been used to address the problem of gender stereotyping in the field of science and technology. Between 1976 and 1980, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), organised four international meetings aimed at improving access of female to technical and Vocational Education and training. These were : * Expert Meeting on Educational and Vocational Guidance For Girls and Women (Paris, 1976) * International Congress on the Situation of women in technical and Vocational Education (Bonn 1980) * International Seminar on the Opening up to women of Vocational Training and Jobs Traditional Occupied by men (Frankfurt 1980) * The International Seminar on Women, Education, Training and Employed in Developing Countries (Tokyo, 1980). The 1979 Vienna Programme of Action on Science and Technology for Development adopted resolution 2 on "Science and Technology and Women". The 1980 World Conference of the UN Decade for Women : Equality, Development and Peace, considered ways of emerging the two issues, 'Science and Technology for development' and 'equal participation of women,' which resulted in the Expert Meeting on Science and Technology and Women at Mt. Holyoke College, Massachusetts, USA in 1983. The United Nations (UN) End of the Decade Conference (Nairobi, 1985) was also used to examine the problem extensively. Recommendations and suggestions are found in the official Conference document "Forward Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women." Within the Commonwealth too, the issue has received much attention. International Workshops and Conferences on Gender Stereotyping in Science, Technology and Mathematics Education (STME) were held in United Kingdom and Singapore in 1986, Ghana in January 1987 and Bangladesh in February 1987. At the Tenth Conference of Commonwealth Ministers of Education (Kenya, July 1987) special emphasis was placed on the particular need for girls and women to be provided with more opportunities and exposure to training in technical and Vocational areas and in fields of science and technology. The Commonwealth Africa Regional Conference (Accra 1987) was an important meeting which provided participants with a unique opportunity to discuss at length, the incidence of and the reasons for such stereotyping in their countries, and also to develop action plans and strategies for addressing the problem. At this particular conference, which was held in GIMPA, Accra, Ghana, the general concerns was that misconceptions and negative attitudes contribute to a large extent to the problem of low participation of girls in the study of science and mathematics at higher educational levels and consequently affect their choice of careers in the field of science and technology. Participation at this meeting made up of women in Science and Technology, experts and policy makers from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya etc. recommended to governments ways of encouraging young women through informal educational initiatives, provisions of incentives and counselling. THE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION (STME) CLINIC FOR GIRLS. The Ghana Education Service fully supported the recommendations of the workshop and in the same year, Ghana through the efforts of Prof. D.S. Dzangmah organized the first STME Clinic for girls at Achimota School in Accra. The project was called 'Science Clinic' because in analogy to a hospital situation its aim was to 'diagnose' and attempt to prescribe a course of therapy for an existing 'malaise' - the negative perceptions of Ghanian girls in STME. In an analogous to a hospital situation, the STME Clinics are meant to diagnose the problem of girls and science and prescribe a course of therapy. Girls brought in during this period undergo a form of written exercise to help unearth (diagnose) their misconceptions about the role of women in the society and what science is. The main activities of the clinic are used as a therapy to help cure them. THE CAUSES Misconceptions of girls participation in science and technology related subjects and careers are well documented in STME reports and other sources. The studies have revealed that outmoded misconceptions and stereotyped attitudes are the major factors contributing to the negative attitudes on the part of girls towards the study of science. These studies have shown that society in general and girls in particular, consider science as a male domain - that science is either too mechanical or too technical for girls. Girls are also considered as not being able to think or work scientifically (Agholor, 1993, Jigede and Okebukula 19......, Nkani, 1992, Eshun 1991). Technical subjects are considered suitable for boys only and girls who study them are considered un-ladylike. Boys who study the so called 'feminine subjects' like secretaryship, cookery and biology are laughed at by their friends and considered weak, lazy and poor achievers (Ellis - page 9 - 10 ). Over the years those who attempt to cross the gender barrier, do so against several odds and only a few bold ones manage to succeed. In the new educational reforms currently going on in Ghana, where both boys and girls are expected to study all subjects at basic educational level, reports reaching us indicate that the few boys who eventually decide to study the so called feminine subjects like cookery at secondary schools are given names such as "Mr. Apron". Girls who choose to do technical subjects are called "Mrs. Hammer". The resultant effect of this problem is the apparent vast areas of job opportunities which seems to be available for men and very limited opportunities for women. Other findings about misconceptions held by the society and which girls also believe in, include the following : 1. The traditional role of the women is found in the home, therefore, in school girls must be taught subjects such as cooking and needlework to make them more capable of bringing up children, perform household chores like cooking, washing, cleaning and being successful in their 'God given' reproductive and productive roles (forgetting that these activities themselves are science related). 2. Perceived nature of science and maths : Science and Mathematics are considered to be difficult and require some kind of intellectual capability which women do not have. * Mathematics and Science are male subjects * They require physical energy which females lack. * Any girl who wants to study these subjects must spend longer hours and years of difficult work by the end of which there would be no suitors for her. * Girls never succeed when they attempt and give up on the way. * Those who eventually succeed must be the most unattractive of their sex, maybe witches or have manliness in them. 3. The school's environment and programme: especially the curriculum - has not helped much. Until the onset of educational reforms in the country, the school time table or subjects schedule made boys and girls automatically find themselves choosing to do traditionally accepted school subjects. * Science and Mathematics textbooks, classroom languages, examples, charts and models portray the male image of science. * Teachers and in some cases, female teachers have been found to pay more attention to boys than girls in science classroom. 4. The period when science is seriously introduced to girls in school is the time when they are in their teen-age and their lives are crowded with all sorts of adolescent problems and they waste time on emotional and fashionable activities. 5. Lack of role models : Very few women are Science and Mathematics teachers. Throughout their lives, girls are taught mainly by male teachers, therefore science and mathematics are perceived as male subjects. Very few women are in the field of science and technology, so girls seem to have no role models to look up to, no one to identify with and no one to serve as a mentor. THE THERAPY Due to these research findings, well thought-out strategies are being used elsewhere and also in Ghana to help pave the way for more girls to gain access to education in the sciences and Mathematics. The STME Clinic has therefore been instituted by the Ghana Education Service with initial financial support from UNESCO, the Commonwealth Secretariat, Valco Fund, some banks, various firms and companies as well as individuals in Ghana. The overall aim of the STME Clinic is to encourage girls to take up science and mathematics subjects, do well in them and stay with them. This is achieved by bringing together approximately 150-200 girls from second cycle educational institutions from all over the country and from other African states for a two-week intensive exposure to the scientific environment. During this time the girls interact with female scientists brought in as role models. Such interactions give the girls an opportunity to realise that it is possible to be a woman scientist and be a regular feminine individual. The girls visit institutions of higher learning in the sciences for a better understanding of the various subject areas. They also visit industries and scientific research institutions to acquaint themselves with the work environment. Other personalities are invited in to talk to the girls about job opportunities as well as problems one may encounter by working in male dominated areas, making them aware of what they should expect and what they need to do. More recently, another approach in the STME Clinic programme has been geared towards attaching girls to scientists and technologists in industries, factories, research laboratories and other fields of scientific endeavour. The girls select areas of interest after one week survey of science and technology fields. They then work alongside mainly women scientists and technologists for about four days to have a feel of working as a scientist. During this period too, girls work on projects as individuals or in groups to gain some skills in the working processes of scientists. Pre and post evaluation tests are given at the beginning and the end of the clinic respectively. these are used as indicators of attitudinal change which has taken place during the two week clinic. The STME programme is now a year-round activity. Several areas of importance are being identified and strategies developed for effective solutions. a) In-service Training for Teachers. Since 1993, the Gender Science and Technology component has been added to the in-service training for teachers. Workshops are also organised for selected teachers who are being trained as co-ordinators at regional, district and local levels. One of such workshops organised last year, 1994, brought together several other people who were not in the classroom. This is an attempt to pool all available resources together for an integrated approach to solving the problem. We hope to continue in this direction in the coming years. Such workshops are used to address teaching approaches to make science and mathematics more appealing to girls, design curriculum materials to make science more girl friendly in an effort to de-emphasise the male image of science in the classroom. Girl friendly science classroom environment. Gender related issues are now being incorporated in in-service and pre-service training for teachers. Ways of presenting the sciences to make girls feel comfortable with them are focused on: i) Teachers are taught how to involve girls in creative and interesting hands-on science and maths activities and the use of everyday examples including games and domestic activities which girls are familiar with, to press home scientific facts and concepts. ii) Teachers are being made aware of the nature of the female: teaching approaches should now take into consideration the fact that women are holistic learners, use cooperative learning style and group work iii)Teachers language and teacher-student classroom interaction should be devoid of gender bias. iv) Gender balanced curriculum materials : Curriculum developers and text book writers are sensitised on the use of examples, (particularly tools and machines) charts and equipments which emphasis the male image of science. b) Basic Educational Programme At regional and district levels, various workshops, career talks and educational trips are being undertaken, purposely to address the problem. We hope to intensify our efforts by linking up more with Guidance and Counselling Units at district levels, donor agencies and schools at community levels, in an attempt to tackle the problem early enough before girls reach adolescence. The La Mansamopee is an example of such an effort. c) Women-in-Development (W.I.D.) Projects in Technical Education. In 1992, this programme was launched in technical institutions to encourage girls into technical trades which were normally considered as the preserve of men. Since its inception, many more women are entering non-technical institutions. The statistics here show how the intake of women into Accra Technical College has doubled in the last two years (Table II). I believe other technical institutions, like Kumasi Technical Institute are experiencing such changes. In Accra, what we have done, in addition to creating awareness, is to cluster the JSS Schools and give them one day orientation to courses at the Accra Technical Training Centre (ATTC). We hope to continue this and in addition, camp girls at Kukurantumi this year for five to seven days. This workshop will be one in the series which will have similar direction as the STME Clinic. It will however, be geared towards technical subjects. d) Influencing Societal Attitudes through Linkages We have managed to link up with various institutions, organisations and groups abroad and home including FAWE for an integrated approach to the issue. As you now know, the problem of girls education in the sciences is not only the problem of those of us in the education sector. Parents, community members, boys etc. must be targeted. Girls must know that they would be accepted in a given profession and that there are jobs available for them. The Adasa Drama group depicted this vividly on Sunday, 12th February, 1995. Linking the �non-science� groups, women groups and NGOs we are trying to influence change at the grass root level. Right now we are in a serious league with the Forum for African Women Educationalist (FAWE) to help sensitise, the public in general and parents in particular through the District Assemble set up to reach more people and generate awareness at the grassroots level. e) Supplementary readers Girls who are not fortunate to attend our programme are reached through supplementary readers posters and stickers to influence their attitudes. f) Guidance and Counselling Girls are encouraged to form supportive groups and through peer counselling encourage each other. ACHIEVEMENTS OF GIRLS IN SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS In spite of the fact that fewer girls than boys do take up the study of Mathematics and Science at higher levels in school, the few who do persist in the study of these are found to do very well in them, excelling in many cases and even performing better than boys in certain cases. It was reported by Prof. Adae-Mensah, Dean of the Faculty of Science, at the University of Ghana, Legon, that the few girls who enter the Faculty to study science come up with very good grades. At the Ghana Medical School, even though the percentage of females has never gone beyond 25%, it is known that every year women constitute a good percentage of those who pass out with distinction. Dr. Aba Andam, the only female nuclear physicist in Africa is said by her male counterparts in the University to have beaten them in Physics examination most of the time. Professor Marian Addy is another female scientist who has made great progress in her field of studies. There are still many more budding young female scientists excelling in many areas.new paragraph This is to prove that the study of Science and Mathematics is not beyond the capabilities of women. This is not to say that all women must be scientists. The argument goes beyond this. Girls must be helped to see the usefulness of Science and mathematics as applied to daily living. According to Coumba Cessay Merenah (the recently made Minister of Health in the Gambia), "If women are able to calculate their daily transactions and carry out their business more effectively, apply their transactions in a scientific manner, then life becomes easier for them." When they can be made to appreciate the efficiency and effectiveness of 'Chorkor Smoker' or the palm oil extractor and how these are associated with healthy living, then when these machines break down they can improvise parts or build a prototype, but not go back to the traditional ways of doing things. CONCLUSION Changing Our World View of Science and Mathematics The view that Science and Technology related school subjects are foreign, unrelated to our environment must be changed. This year, we are trying to get a programme going on the national television which will attempt to portray the relevance of science to our society. At the moment, boys are equally running away from the study of science in school and there is the need to make science more appealing to all before it becomes too late. As we try to improve the situation for girls, we are hopeful that boys will benefit as well. What We can do to Help We shall spend the rest of the time to discuss ways and means this gathering here could be involved in developing strategies towards more effective solutions. a) We need more information on the problem at local levels to be able to assess the dimension and gravity at every locality - dealing with specific cases eg. where the girl is good in Mathematics and Science but for lack of financial support (due to death of one parent or both) cannot continue her education etc. b) Sensitising the community through groups especially women associations, church groups and the District Assemblies about the importance of girls' education in the sciences and mathematics. c) Making more effort to deal with misconceptions about what science is and the role of girls in the society. d) Enforce school - community linkages through the design of classroom activities - science and mathematics projects and experiments which will have direct impact on the lives of people in the community. e) Encourage NGOs and funding agencies to finance projects which are geared towards improving girls' education in the sciences. f) Institute local scholarships as incentives for girls who excel in the sciences and mathematics.