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For the pat 40 years, educators and researchers have largely discussed sex equity issues, particularly in the K-12 settings. However, within the last few years gender equity issues have become a hotly debated area of research. One may contend that sex is biologically determined maleness and femaleness; whereas, gender is influenced by cultural, social, and historical factors. Although, there has been a lot of emphasis on unfair treatment or exclusion of girls from formal science, the focus was mainly on White, middle class girls with little focus placed on Black girls. This has fueled the debate for the promotion of the "Black Girl Turn" in research on gender and science education, as over the centuries Blacks and girls have been denied their turn in science due to cultural and historical reasons. This literature review addresses the strengths and limitations of the existing bodies of work and concludes with directions toward a student-based inquiry approach that can explore and help others to understand Black females' perspectives with an aim at filling in some of the missing information in the science education literature.

In a replication and extension of a 1984 study by M. A. Ferguson to investigate the status of theory building by public relations scholars, 748 abstracts and/or articles published in "Public Relations Review,""Journal of Public Relations Research," and its predecessor "Public Relations Research Annual," since their inceptions through the year 2000, were subjected to content analysis. Nearly 20% of articles analyzed were found to have contributed to theory development in public relations compared to only 4% in Ferguson's study. Theory was most prevalent in articles about excellence/symmetry, public relationships, ethics and social responsibility, crisis response, critical-cultural, feminism/diversity, and international topics. These and interdisciplinary influences are expected to continue to contribute to ever more theory building in public relations. (Contains 42 references, 10 notes, and 4 tables of data. An appendix presents a categorization by titles of all articles analyzed.) (Author/RS)

This paper examines the potential contributions of a feminist critical perspective to an understanding of assessment in higher education. It uses as a foundation the nine principles of feminist assessment (published in 1992 as an outgrowth of a project on women's studies programs) and an American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) list of nine principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning, which concern themselves with values, student-centered assessment and the influence of institutional culture on assessment. The paper discusses the beginnings of the assessment movement in higher education in the United States, various assessment principles, compares the feminist principles with the AAHE principles, and describes how various institutions use feminist principles in their assessment activities. In another section the study discusses two important contributions of feminist theory to assessment: the understanding that power and politics underlie issues of knowledge; and as an activist perspective, the idea that feminist theory can transform as well as inform educational practice. A table listing the principles of feminist assessment and the AAHE principles of good practice for assessing student learning is appended. (Contains 24 references.) (CH)

Current debates about welfare reform center on the upcoming reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) legislation. The provisions of TANF include the elimination of the entitlement to cash assistance, block grant funding to the states, mandatory work requirements, sanctions, a 5-year limit on cash assistance, and "family formation" provisions. Although there has been a documented reduction in welfare case loads since the passage of TANF, data on earnings, income, and poverty are less positive. Research on "welfare leavers," for example, finds that those leaving welfare for employment are typically entering jobs paying below-poverty-level wages and are not receiving employer-provided benefits such as health insurance or paid sick or vacation leave. In preparation for reauthorization legislation, TANF should be changed to help women increase their access to jobs with living wages. A feminist agenda for TANF reauthorization acknowledges the nature of the labor markets poor women enter and the need to reduce gender-biased employment discrimination. It calls for the restructuring of time limits and sanctions to take into account the barriers to employment faced by many poor women and the fact that even those who become employed face hurdles to achieving economic security. A feminist agenda for TANF reauthorization proposes to strengthen the safety net for children, improve childcare provisions, increase educational and training opportunities, and make the legislation more responsive to business cycles, since economic downturns often hit former welfare recipients first. (Contains 59 references.) (KC)

This paper uses Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 as a case study to explore the education field and the impact on civil rights legislation dealing with gender. The U.S. record in gender-equity legislation has been mixed, no doubt due in part to the fact that female representation in U.S. legislative bodies has been among the lowest in the world. Title IX is the most extensive U.S. legislation addressing gender equity in education. With the United States entering its third decade under this regulation, Title IX can provide a good study in what legislation can and cannot do to bring about social change. The paper discusses what Title IX is, its origins and context, successes and failures of Title IX, and points to consider when legislating equity. Contains 21 references. (EH)

This study applied feminist organizational theory to explore the effects of gender structure on perceptions of organizational culture and climate. The study used data from a 1994 survey of permanent, noninstructional staff at a major midwestern university (n=4,800). The research sought to determine: (1) whether gender-dominated organizational sectors exist in the noninstructional work setting of a university; (2) how employee gender relates to perceptions of organizational work culture and climate; (3) how gender dominance in job type relates to perceptions of organizational work culture; and (4) how employee gender, gender dominance in work sector, and perceptions of organizational culture relate to perceptions of work climate. The conceptual framework for the study included feminist views of organizational theory, literature on organizational culture and climate, and issues of gender in higher education. The data revealed distinctive gender distributions among job types, supporting the feminist description of a gendered organization, with women segregated into particular job types and academic disciplines. It also appeared that employees in job types dominated by women tended to view their work culture as one which emphasized relationships, shared values, and group loyalty, rather than as an entrepreneurial-style adhocracy. Most respondents rated their work environment favorably. (Contains 25 references.) (CH)

This paper reviews the program of the Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in Industry, held from 1921 to 1938, and attempts to discern whether the curriculum and pedagogy of the school was feminist. An introduction notes that sources for the paper include course syllabi, videotaped interviews, and first person accounts of the school's functioning. A section describing the history of the summer school covers the thinking of its founders, Hilda W. Smith and M. Carey Thomas, the opening of the school, the curriculum, the student body which was racially integrated, and the school's involvement in the union movement (which eventually caused its close). A central section looks at the characteristics of the school, student evaluation, non-academic learning experiences, curriculum, and the effect of the school on its students, women from blue-collar occupations. A further section offers an overview of feminist pedagogy and method as a preparation for a section on the use of feminist pedagogy at the Summer School. This section notes that the school's educational philosophy was founded on feminism and the progressive education of John Dewey. A conclusion argues that the experience of the school demonstrates that a commitment to women's learning makes possible collaborative process, shared authority, and empowerment. (Contains 23 references.) (JB)

This paper identifies and discusses the connections between the way individuals frame their world based on the language they use and the impact of language and stereotyping on the perception that computer technology is primarily for certain individuals. The study explores how some of the dimensions of the language of computers and technology, computer culture, and computer-based activities are inextricably linked to the language and culture of mathematics which has framed a particular way of thinking about computer technology. The document discusses an array of anecdotal evidence and research findings supporting the contention that technology education carries with it the biases and beliefs of the society in which it operates. The use of computers often exacerbates inequities for students of color and poor students rather than act as an educational panacea. However, a broad understanding of this cultural context can be used to begin to change the culture of the classroom and school to respond better to the educational needs of the broad range of students who traditionally do not succeed. Questions are raised regarding, how to make technology engaging for both males and females and how can a new approach to technology support a democracy? The document concludes with a number of approaches to creating classroom changes. These include increasing the opportunities for girls to engage in technology-related activities, working with more collaborative activities, giving students' more control over the activities that they work on, and changing patterns of discourse. (MJP)

This study used feminist poststructuralist analysis to examine ways in which the relationships between college students and faculty influenced the enactment of feminist teaching. It used open-ended interviews with 22 faculty, the majority of whom were either affiliated with the women's studies program or were in a department in the School of Education, all of whom were employed at a large midwestern university, as well as observations of the teaching strategies and philosophies of two of the participants. Using the interview and observation data, the study examined how feminist teachers incorporated student experience into their teaching, identity construction in feminist teaching, political identity, and identity as a teaching tool. (Contains 27 references.) (MDM)

This study examined faculty characteristics and teaching environments of higher education institutions that may hinder or facilitate student-centered pedagogical practices derived from feminist theory. Feminist pedagogy generally advocates democratizing the classroom, building cooperative learning environments, legitimizing personal experiences as a form of intellectual inquiry, and applying classroom learning to society. These approaches draw on themes of power, the community of learners, social responsibility and action, and emotions and feelings as central to learning. Data were drawn from a 1989-90 national survey of 35,478 faculty at 392 institutions. The data contained responses from full-time teaching faculty from every major type of institution. However, for the purpose of this study, two-year colleges were eliminated. This resulted in 29,961 respondents from 303 institutions. Data covered time spent on teaching, research, and administration; interactions with students; teaching practices and evaluation methods; perceptions of institutional climate; views and attitudes; sources of stress and satisfaction; and demographic and educational preparation. Results indicated that faculty background characteristics and faculty interests play a strong role in predicting the use of feminist pedagogical practices. The strongest predictor of the use of feminist pedagogical practice is being committed to student development regardless of gender. In addition, being a woman, being a liberal, or participating in a seminar to integrate perspectives of women and minority groups into the curriculum also predicted use of feminist pedagogical practice. (Contains 44 references.) (JB)

This study used qualitative research to develop a richer description and deeper understanding of the collaborative process among 26 feminist women faculty. The participants were all on the faculty full-time at two research universities in the Midwest and espoused feminism as evidenced by their formal association with women's studies programs. In particular the study asked what role collaboration with other women plays in feminist women faculty's construction of their own scholarly identities. The interviews were semi-structured, following a general interview guide of about 35 open-ended questions. Emerging from the participants' narratives were five identity themes: (1) synergy, (2) affirmation, (3) pragmatism, (4) resistance and rebellion, and (5) confirmation and empowerment. The research also suggested that feminist women see collaboration as a way to model and promote feminist values in their scholarship and in the competitive and individualistic culture of the research university. Participants repeatedly expressed the desire to integrate their values and their scholarship by doing research on a topic or using methods which reflect their commitments. A supportive environment may be fostered by ways of collaborating that consciously encourage resistance to hierarchy, exclusion, and exploitation, that encourage creative rebellion, and that lead to a synergy of ideas enlivening scholarship. (Contains 26 references.) (JB)

This study investigated how men involved in higher education settings change and develop positive attitudes toward women and feminism using naturalistic inquiry, phenomenological, and ethnographic research methods. An unstructured, open-ended, interview protocol was used to talk with men about their attitudes toward women and feminism. The five men who were interviewed were chosen because of their essentially pro-feminist viewpoint and commitment to work for social justice. Content analysis of the interviews are presented in two contexts. First, ideas and statements from each man are presented as a story of his changing attitudes. Then, themes or topics that appeared across different interviews are discussed as possible patterns, metaphors, and processes of web-like development. Patterns that appeared in the interviews covered the importance of recognizing contradictions, epiphanies and conversion experiences, children, and working against sexism. The patterns indicate that the subjects' development was not a linear, hierarchical movement but more web-like. Also noted was the impact of the higher education environment for development and changing attitudes, and the role of the researcher in the type of study presented here. (JB)

An analysis of five mid-nineteenth century women's suffrage periodicals ("The Lily,""The Genius of Liberty,""The Una,""The Revolution," and "The Woman's Journal") suggests that the papers succeeded in creating, sustaining, and inspiring the suffrage community as it developed and matured, and in dramatizing and debating alternative versions of a new life style for women. In 1893, the 13,000 members enrolled in the official suffrage organization had few opportunities for face-to-face interaction and communication and saw themselves as poorly (negatively and infrequently) reported in the popular press. Thus it was through and with their own papers that the suffragists came together as a community. (AEA)

In some areas of the college curriculum, such as the humanities and social sciences, the process of transforming the curriculum to reflect women's studies has reached a fairly sophisticated level. Other disciplines, however, especially the sciences, have proposed greater dilemmas for feminist scholars. This paper presents a multidimensional framework for feminist curricular transformation, along with a view of what a feminist scientific environment would look like. The framework contains six domains of transformation and three levels of existing and future action taken to achieve a feminist curriculum. As an example of a scientific curriculum transformed to reflect feminist concerns, a research methods curriculum in psychology is outlined. A 152-item reference list is included, as are specific suggestions drawn from teaching experiences. (DB)

In their efforts at curriculum reform, feminist scholars need to take into account the oppression of homosexuals and lesbians. A truly evolved curriculum takes seriously the overlooked lives, action, ideas and products of those whose efforts truly make societies possible. Inclusion of homosexuals and lesbians in the curriculum is important so that the oppression these persons have endured does not go overlooked by students and faculty; so that homosexual and lesbian students feel they have a place in society; and so that courses are made richer and more honest. This paper discusses the steps necessary to establish lesbians and homosexuals in the curricula, including suggestions for changing the college community, changes both in content and teaching methods, and specific examples of classroom techniques. (DB)

The task of transforming the undergraduate curriculum to reflect feminist concerns should involve a consideration of the way existing curricula are structured. This paper pursues the question of structure and considers two existing and separate courses: the sociology of work (or occupational sociology) and the sociology of the family. Alternative ways of structuring these courses are discussed, including one that would focus on the two spheres of life (work and family) together and the design of a course that has as its core the area where the spheres overlap. An outline for a course on work and families is presented and includes lists of readings for several different topics within the larger concepts. (DB)