ABSTRACT
The chapters in this section present a sense of déjà vu as we relive the late 1970s in mathematics and the early 1980s in science. Even the language is similar; for example, Allison Kelly’s (1987) term, “girl-friendly science,” coined during her groundbreaking work in British schools, has been transformed to “girl-friendly technology” or “girl-friendly software or programs.” Jacque Eccles’s (1989) research in gender and mathematics that showedthrough path analysis-that boys attributed success in mathematics to their own skills and intellects, while girls attributed their success to hard work is echoed in chapters in this section. And, once again, we are chasing after role models, girl friendly activities, and mathematics skills and achievement levels to understand why there are so few girls and women entering, or involved in, IT careers.
