A l'UM la science [S04-ep19] : A child-robot interaction to question gender stereotypes in mathS
This week in A l'UM la science, Madalina Croitoru, researcher at the Lirmmresearcher Madalina Croitoru presents an experiment involving interaction between a robot and children that questions gender stereotypes in mathematics. In the second part of the program, optics students experiment with laser cavities. A program broadcast every Wednesday on Divergence 93.9.
In a week's time, the die will be cast for the nearly 650,000 final-year students invited to formulate their orientation wishes on the ParcourSup platform. Will this year once again see the same gender biases in their choices? We'll have the answer in a few weeks' time.
Back in 2022, the Maths et Sciences collective, which brings together a number of secondary school teachers' associations, warned of an unprecedented drop in the number of female high school students enrolling in science courses. Between 2019 and 2021, there will be 28% fewer girls in the science final year, and 61% fewer in maths specializations.
The same group compared the figures for 2019 with those for 1994. In the space of 30 years, the number of girls in the science stream had risen from 40% to 47%, but by 2021 it had fallen back to 44%. As for the maths speciality, in 30 years its female enrolment has fallen from 40% to 35%. How can we explain this decline in the number of girls in science subjects, when they are generally more successful than boys in all subjects and at all levels?
One hypothesis is the strong prevalence of gender stereotypes, which steer girls more towards literary careers, while boys are naturally more gifted in mathematics. And what's even more damaging is that the internalization of these gender stereotypes often begins as early as primary school.
In Montpellier, a team of researchers in robotics and social psychology came up with the idea of combining their skills and using artificial intelligence to analyze gender stereotypes in the perception of mathematical abilities. To do this, they set up an interaction experiment between a robot and a class of 7-year-old children.
Madalina Croitoru is a computer scientist at the Laboratoire d'informatique, de robotique et de micro-électronique in Montpellier, and is also working on a thesis in cognitive sciences with the Epsylon laboratory. She details the results of this study: "A child-robot interaction experiment to analyze gender stereotypes in the perception of mathematical abilities".
In the second half of the program, we stay in the field of education as the Faculty of Science welcomes us to discover its teaching facilities for a few weeks. We're off to the Triolet campus to take part in the practical work on waves, electromagnetism and optics led by Professors Thierry Guillet and Steeve Cronenberger. This week, two students have 4 hours to create a laser beam.
At UM la science you've got the program, let's go!
Coproduction: Divergence FM / Université de Montpellier
Animation: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interviews : Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Reporting and editing: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Production: Robin Laillou
Listen to the "A l'UM la science" program on Divergence FM 93.9
