出版社：International Council of Associations for Science Education (ICASE)
摘要：In Malawi, in spite of a number of gender equity policies and initiatives that encourage females to pursue careers within the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), research indicates that they are under-represented in these fields. One initiative recommended to address the factors contributing to this under-representation is the development of a bridging programme for female students. A bridging programme (or, course) is generally defined as any course of study that addresses the gaps between students' existing knowledge and/or skills and the knowledge and/or skills required to successfully make the transition to a new course of study. In this paper, two br idging courses are compared for their lasting effects. The first one was carried out with Form Three (year 11) female students while the second bridging course was offered as a pre-entry co urse for female students admitted to University of Malawi (STEM) courses. The bridging courses had similar components of academic subjects, study skills, life skills, role models and excursions. The study found that both bridging courses had positive impacts on performance in STEM subjects but the most significant impact in both cases seems to be improvement in motivation and study skills. This paper presents a brief analysis of data collected (through interviews) with participants from both bridging courses and discusses these findings.
关键词：bridging course; STEM; implicit theory of intelligence; self ; efficacy; classroom climate; community o f learners
