The Gender Gap in Higher Education in Alaska

ABSTRACT. A gender gap strongly favoring women is occurring in higher education throughout the Arctic and is especially severe among indigenous groups. This study documents the size, nature, and recent increase in the gender gap at the University of Alaska, especially for Alaska Native students. To...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Judith Kleinfeld, Justin J. Andrews
Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 2006
Subjects:
Online Access:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.556.8244
http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic59-4-428.pdf
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spelling ftciteseerx:oai:CiteSeerX.psu:10.1.1.556.8244 2023-05-15T14:19:47+02:00 The Gender Gap in Higher Education in Alaska Judith Kleinfeld Justin J. Andrews The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives 2006 application/pdf http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.556.8244 http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic59-4-428.pdf en eng http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.556.8244 http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic59-4-428.pdf Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic59-4-428.pdf Key words educational achievement school success gender roles gender gap gender differences gender role expectations Alaska Natives text 2006 ftciteseerx 2016-01-08T11:49:00Z ABSTRACT. A gender gap strongly favoring women is occurring in higher education throughout the Arctic and is especially severe among indigenous groups. This study documents the size, nature, and recent increase in the gender gap at the University of Alaska, especially for Alaska Native students. To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide statistical documentation of this phenomenon. We find that among Alaska Natives, women are earning bachelor’s degrees at almost three times the rate of men and associate degrees at almost five times the rate of men. Furthermore, the gender gap in favor of females widened between 1998 and 2004, the most recent year for which we have information. The experience at the University of Alaska shows that increasing access and providing college preparation and support services alone are not enough to engage indigenous young men in postsecondary education. What may also be needed are ways of making education more compatible with traditional male cultural roles and community values. The Community Trades Technology Program at the University of Alaska has succeeded in enrolling large numbers of young Native men in a postsecondary program through such an educational model. The program 1) is located in the students ’ home community; 2) offers cohort-based instruction that enrolls most of the students ’ friends; 3) emphasizes practical, hands-on knowledge and the lore of the trade; 4) embeds academic instruction in practical tasks, such as writing letters about construction supplies; 5) connects the educational program to immediate employment in construction projects scheduled for the community; and 6) provides practical help to people, such as doing home repairs, without charge. Text Arctic Arctic Alaska Unknown Arctic
institution Open Polar
collection Unknown
op_collection_id ftciteseerx
language English
topic Key words
educational achievement
school success
gender roles
gender gap
gender differences
gender role expectations
Alaska Natives
spellingShingle Key words
educational achievement
school success
gender roles
gender gap
gender differences
gender role expectations
Alaska Natives
Judith Kleinfeld
Justin J. Andrews
The Gender Gap in Higher Education in Alaska
topic_facet Key words
educational achievement
school success
gender roles
gender gap
gender differences
gender role expectations
Alaska Natives
description ABSTRACT. A gender gap strongly favoring women is occurring in higher education throughout the Arctic and is especially severe among indigenous groups. This study documents the size, nature, and recent increase in the gender gap at the University of Alaska, especially for Alaska Native students. To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide statistical documentation of this phenomenon. We find that among Alaska Natives, women are earning bachelor’s degrees at almost three times the rate of men and associate degrees at almost five times the rate of men. Furthermore, the gender gap in favor of females widened between 1998 and 2004, the most recent year for which we have information. The experience at the University of Alaska shows that increasing access and providing college preparation and support services alone are not enough to engage indigenous young men in postsecondary education. What may also be needed are ways of making education more compatible with traditional male cultural roles and community values. The Community Trades Technology Program at the University of Alaska has succeeded in enrolling large numbers of young Native men in a postsecondary program through such an educational model. The program 1) is located in the students ’ home community; 2) offers cohort-based instruction that enrolls most of the students ’ friends; 3) emphasizes practical, hands-on knowledge and the lore of the trade; 4) embeds academic instruction in practical tasks, such as writing letters about construction supplies; 5) connects the educational program to immediate employment in construction projects scheduled for the community; and 6) provides practical help to people, such as doing home repairs, without charge.
author2 The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
format Text
author Judith Kleinfeld
Justin J. Andrews
author_facet Judith Kleinfeld
Justin J. Andrews
author_sort Judith Kleinfeld
title The Gender Gap in Higher Education in Alaska
title_short The Gender Gap in Higher Education in Alaska
title_full The Gender Gap in Higher Education in Alaska
title_fullStr The Gender Gap in Higher Education in Alaska
title_full_unstemmed The Gender Gap in Higher Education in Alaska
title_sort gender gap in higher education in alaska
publishDate 2006
url http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.556.8244
http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic59-4-428.pdf
geographic Arctic
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Arctic
Alaska
genre_facet Arctic
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