MPhil project: Can teaching practice address gender inequality in science, as explored through self-efficacy?

There has been an increasing interest in gender in science over the last decades; this interest is wide-ranging and focusses not only on redressing gender representation in disciplines and positions of leadership, but also seeks to maximise the benefits of diversity in terms of innovation, creativity, and productivity in complex scientific systems (Charlesworth & Banaji, 2019). Within the sciences and allied disciplines, there has been a concerted effort to challenge the gender gap in terms of gender representation. Despite attempts ranging from awareness raising to policy changes, issues remain in the key areas of equity and access, curriculum and pedagogy, the nature and culture of science, and identity which are seen as barriers to balanced gender representation (Brotman & Moore, 2008).

This MPhil project will focus on pedagogy, and pedagogical approaches specifically, to better understand if different teaching and learning approaches can effect enhanced self-reported self-efficacy and result in a more gender equitable learning environments in science. The researcher will use educational research methods to gather both qualitative and quantitative data from a purposefully selected, student-based, research population as part of a mixed methods research design. Appropriate data analysis techniques will be used interrogate the data to develop a clear understanding to address the research question. The researcher will be provided access to, and training in, data gathering, analysis and reporting software (e.g. NVivo) to support their research journey. This research builds on prior work carried out by the Supervisory Team (Ryan, 2021; Rudd, 2020) and the outputs will inform teaching and learning practice in science and beyond in higher education.

 Student requirements for this project

Min. 2.1 BSc. in any Physical or Life Science or Min 2.1 in BA in Social Science/BEd in Education. 

Ryan, B. (2021). Identifying, Understanding and Addressing Group Work Gender Patterns in the Sciences in Irish Higher Education Settings. National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Teaching and Learning Research Fellowship 2020. Available at: https://bit.ly/NFTLRF_BR (Accessed 17^th Oct 2021)

Deadline to submit expressions of interest EOI (https://www.dit.ie/media/documents/study/postgraduateresearch/EOI%20Form.doc), along with a full CV: Midnight, November 21^st 2021 - Please submit to [Email Address Removed]

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