The influence of gender on STEM career choice: A partial least squares analysis (original) (raw)
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2021
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) career serves national economic development and respond to job market demands for maintaining/ increasing productivity and international competitiveness in highly technological field of employment. Thus, this paper objectives to review previous research literatures about factors affecting female to participate in STEM careers and career development theories employed to promote female students' choice of STEM careers. Based on literature review, women are highly underrepresenting in STEM field as a worldwide phenomenon because of factors such as personal factor and extra-person factor. Among six career development theories, Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) (Lent & Hackett, 1987) emphasize both cognitive-person variable and extra-person variable which different from others five career developments theories. Therefore, SCCT is good fit theory for the study conduct in Cambodia which has string culture influence for females. Implications for enhancing female students' participation in STEM careers were also discussed.
Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities
Despite the increase in the number of female students in education indicating a reversal in the gender gap, their participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in Malaysia is still a matter of concern. This study extends empirical explanations for this gender gap and identifies factors influencing high school students’ intentions to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education in Malaysia. The present study aims to develop a framework of female intention to pursue STEM education by examining the impact of five independent variables on STEM self-efficacy and in turn the impact of self-efficacy on intention. The independent variables include attitude towards STEM, self-concept, gender stereotype, motivation, and teacher stereotypes. The study also examines the independent and moderating impact of career outcome expectancy on the relationship between self-efficacy and intention. Data was collected from 211 secondary sch...
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Journal of Research in STEM Education, 2018
This study examined factors that influence middle school students’ dispositions towards science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers. Interest and ability in STEM subject areas were compared by gender, based on 182 middle school students’ responses to four different test instruments. While findings from t-tests indicated significant differences between males and females on mathematics interest scores, no significant differences were found in science, technology, engineering, or STEM career interest. Stepwise multiple regression showed that STEM variables explained 47% of the variance in boys pursuing a STEM career and 36% of the variance in girls. The findings of this study underscore the challenges that still exist in achieving equal gender representation in the STEM workforce, and suggest that adopting a constructivist learning approach may provide a foundation for girls to develop a more positive approach toward science, boost STEM awareness and interest, and increas...
STEM Career Interest: The Effect of Gender
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The issue of women being underrepresented in STEM careers has become a global concern. Literature review shows that imbalance in STEM careers based on gender is due to intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Thus, this study investigated the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that contribute to STEM careers' interest. STEM career interest based on gender was also investigated. 354 secondary school students (14 years old) responded to a questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics (MANOVA) were employed. The students showed a medium-high level of interest in STEM careers. Boys tend to show higher interest compared to girls. Therefore, all parties need to play their role in creating a positive perception of STEM careers by considering the needs of male and female students.
Gender gap in STEM education and career choices: what matters
Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 2021
Purpose-The paper innovates on the existing literature by assessing the gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) tertiary education enrolment and career choice in a small country setting and by extending on Master and Meltzoff (2016) theoretical framework to provide a holistic explanation of the gender disparity through a mix of personal, environmental and behavioural factors. The study first probes into the existence of potential gender disparity in STEM tertiary enrolment in Mauritius. Second, in contrast with existing studies where selective factors are used to measure the gender gap in STEM education, this paper investigates into a combination of personal, environmental and behavioural factors that may influence participation in STEM education and career. Design/methodology/approach-The study uses a survey of 209 undergraduates enroled in the main public university and investigates into the existence of a gender gap in STEM tertiary education enrolment and the reasons behind this disparity. Consistent with the theoretical model, the empirical analysis also investigates into the work environment (which cannot be measured from the survey), via semi-structured interviews of 15 women in STEM professions. Findings-The logit regression results first reveal the existence of a gender disparity in the choice of STEM-related degrees. The probability of a female student to enrol in a STEM degree is lower than that of a male student, after controlling for all the personal, environmental and behavioural factors. The most important set of reasons influencing the student's STEM degree choice are self-efficacy and the student's academic performance in STEM subjects at secondary school level. The findings also demonstrate that young women are relatively more likely to choose STEM degrees than their male counterparts when they are supported by their family, school and teachers. There is further evidence of lower participation of women in STEM professions as well as significant challenges which women in STEM careers face compared to their male colleagues. Originality/value-This study adopts a holistic framework to assess the factors that hinder women's participation in STEM tertiary education and career in Mauritius.
STEM Influence on Career Choice Variables of Middle School Students Based on Gender and Ethnicity
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STEM Influence on Career Choice Variables of Middle School Students Based on Gender and Ethnicity by Melyssa D. Ferro MA, Walden University, 2006 BS, Boise State University, 1999 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Education Walden University November 2019 Abstract Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are growing fields in both global job markets and educational spaces. The problem related to this study was the lack of understanding of how gender and ethnicity might relate to differences in the science self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and task interest of students who have participated in STEM intervention programs at the middle school level. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the extent to which there were differences between the dependent variables of science self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and task interest in U.S. middle school students based on the independent va...
Teacher, parental and friend influences on STEM interest and career choice intention
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STEM subjects were officially introduced into upper secondary schools in Malaysia in 2020. Form Four students were given the opportunity to choose the STEM subjects before their enrolment in the STEM stream. According to the Malaysian Ministry of Education, this initiative prioritises students’ interests to promote STEM involvement among the younger generation and to reinstate STEM components in the curriculum. This study aimed to investigate the influence of teachers, parents and friends on STEM interest and career choice intention among secondary school students in Malaysia. A total of 230 Form Four students from the central region of Peninsular Malaysia participated in a self-report survey. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling. The results showed that parents had a significant influence on both students’ STEM interest and career choice intention, whereas teachers did not. Friends were only influential on students’ STEM career choice intention, but not on their S...
A Model of Interest in Stem Careers Among Secondary School Students
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Studies have shown that various factors (the role of formal education, informal education, and community) contribute to the lack of participation in STEM and STEM careers. This research aimed to understand the multi pathways of factors contributing to the interest in STEM careers (STEM careers in physical sciences and STEM careers in life sciences). This research was a survey research which administered a questionnaire randomly to 1485 secondary school students (14 years of age). Data analysis was based on the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) to test the hypothesized model. A model containing five constructs, namely environmental factors (learning experiences, media, social influences), self-efficacy in science, technology, engineering and mathematics respectively, perceptions of STEM careers and interest in physical sciences and life sciences STEM careers was proposed in this research. The results show that students’ interest in...
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STEM education could be reckoned as a noble thing in the Indonesian Educational System in the last few years. This paper is a preliminary attempt to investigate the students’ attitude and interest in STEM regarding the gender perspective of Senior High School’s student in Malang, Indonesia. To explore the attitude and interest in the gender stereotypes, this quantitative method study has been conducted. 357 students participated in the survey which comprised 126 males and 231 females. The survey contended 40 items of belief’s indicators in the STEM field such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics and the STEM. Besides, at the end of the survey’s section, there are some options for future study programs and career to be selected by the learner. Unexpectedly, the finding of this project revealed that male has a more positive belief in the most of STEM field, such as technology, engineering, mathematics, and STEM, rather than female. In comparison, the female has a more posi...
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This study examines the relationships between attitudes toward all core STEM subjects and interest in STEM careers among 4th through 12th grade US students through the administration of the Student Attitudes toward STEM (S-STEM) Survey to over 15,000 public school students. The research developed a model based on expectancy-value theory that incorporates key demographic factors of age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Our findings reinforce prior research that students across key demographic factors perceive biological/clinical and physical science career paths differently, resulting in two career clusters. Of interest, the relationship of mathematics attitudes to career interest varied by STEM career cluster. Findings were also supportive of the conclusion that students' attitudes towards STEM careers are not static over their primary and secondary grades, stabilizing and leveling during their secondary years. Gender showed significantly different interest levels for the two career clusters: males higher for physical sciences and females higher for biological/clinical sciences. Racial/ethnic disparity in STEM career interests can be seen more readily in physical sciences and engineering than in the biological sciences. Overall, our work reinforces findings that students, as young as elementary grades, are forming attitudinal associations between their academic and life experience and future STEM careers.