ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the background to the problem and the way the Girls into Science and Technology (GIST) team chose to tackle it, with a combination of research and 'action' or 'intervention' in a group of schools. In the early 1970s, it was still the case that some girls had no opportunity at all to study physical sciences after the third year at secondary school. Girls' relative underachievement in comparison with boys was well established before the start of the GIST project in 1979. In the early 1970s, it was still the case that some girls had no opportunity at all to study physical sciences after the third year at secondary school. The available evidence suggested that girls in single-sex schools were more likely to succeed in the physical sciences than girls in coeducational schools. Social norms and attitudes are also said to be determinants of girls' beliefs, opinions and choices concerning science and sex roles.
