2018/03/20 by David I. Miller, Kyle Nolla, Alice H. Eagly +1 · 1 voice · 7 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Animal and Plant Science Education #Science Education and Pedagogy #Science Education and Perceptions
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/cdev.13039
openalex publication_date 2018/03/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Abstract This meta-analysis, spanning 5 decades of Draw-A-Scientist studies, examined U.S. children's gender-science stereotypes linking science with men. These stereotypes should have weakened over time because women's representation in science has risen substantially in the United States, and mass media increasingly depict female scientists. Based on 78 studies (N = 20,860; grades K-12), children's drawings of scientists depicted female scientists more often in later decades, but less often among older children. Children's depictions of scientists therefore have become more gender diverse over time, but children still associate science with men as they grow older. These results may reflect that children observe more male than female scientists in their environments, even though women's representation in science has increased over time. The title for this Special Section is Meta-analysis and Individual Participant Data Synthesis in Child Development, edited by Glenn I. Roisman and Marinus H. van IJzendoorn