Studies have repeatedly reported that math and science are perceived as male domains, and scientists as predominantly male. However, the impact of the gender image of school science subjects on young people's career choice has not yet been analyzed. This paper investigates the impact of the masculinity image of three school subjects-chemistry, mathematics, and physics-on secondary students' career aspirations in STEM fields. The data originated from a cross-sectional study among 1'364 Swiss secondary school students who were close to obtaining their matriculation diploma. By means of a standardized survey, data on students' perception of masculinity of science school subjects were collected using semantic differentials. The results indicate that for both sexes, math has the strongest masculinity attribution, followed by physics as second, and, finally, chemistry with the lowest masculinity attribution. With respect to gender differences, our findings have shown that among female students, the attribution of masculinity to the three school subjects does not differ significantly, meaning that female students rated all subjects similarly strongly as masculine. Within the group of male students however, the attribution of masculinity to math compared to chemistry and physics differs significantly, whereas the attribution of masculinity to chemistry and physics does not. Our findings also suggest that gender-science stereotypes of math and science can potentially influence young women's and men's aspirations to enroll in a STEM major at university by showing that a less pronounced masculine image of science has the potential to increase the likelihood of STEM career aspirations. Finally, the paper discusses ways of changing the image of math and science in the context of secondary education in order to overcome the disparities between females and males in STEM.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag fokussiert die Bedeutung des mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Unterrichts für die Überwindung der geschlechtsbezogenen Disparitäten bei der Berufswahl im Bereich von Mathematik, Informatik, Naturwissenschaft und Technik (MINT). Basierend auf der Annahme, dass in der motivationsförderlichen Gestaltung des Unterrichts ein wirksamer Ansatz zur Reduktion der beharrenden Unterrepräsentation von Frauen in MINT-Berufen liegt, wird der Frage nachgegangen, wie junge Frauen mit einer für ihr Geschlecht untypischen Berufswahl den mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht, den sie auf der Sekundarstufe I erlebt haben, retrospektiv beurteilen. Der methodische Zugang erfolgt über eine standardisierte Befragung (N = 185) und qualitative Einzelinterviews (N = 71) von Frauen, die eine duale Ausbildung zu einem MINT-Beruf auf der Sekundarstufe II absolvieren. Die Triangulation der quantitativen und qualitativen Ergebnisse zeigt, dass der mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Unterricht von den jungen Frauen dann als förderlich und unterstützend wahrgenommen wird, wenn er auf den vier Dimensionen der Vermittlungskompetenz der Lehrperson, der individuellen Förderung durch die Lehrperson, der Orientierung über MINT-Berufe sowie des Alltags-und Phänomenbezugs hohe Ausprägungen aufweist.Schlüsselwörter Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht · MINT · Sekundarstufe I · Frauen · Berufswahl 2 B. Aeschlimann et al. 3 Women in STEM professions: retrospective perception of mathematics and science in secondary school educationAbstract The article emphasizes the importance of math and science classes for overcoming gender disparities in career choices in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This study focuses on the retrospective perception of math and science education during secondary schooling among female vocational students with a career choice in male-dominated occupations. The underlying assumption is that the design of school lessons offers an effective approach to explain and remedy the persisting underrepresentation of women in STEM professions. Based on this, we explore the research question how young women with gender a-typical career choices retrospectively evaluate their math and science classes during secondary school. The methodological approach consists of a standardized survey (N = 185) and individual interviews (N = 71) of women undergoing training for a STEM profession in secondary school. Triangulation of quantitative and qualitative results shows that young women perceived math and science classes as conducive and supportive when their education ranked high on four dimensions: teachers' communication skills, teacher support to individual students, information about STEM professions, and when the class content was relevant for and linked to everyday life experiences.