Appraising Science Career Interests in Adolescent Girls and Boys

Abstract

Science career choice is partly determined by precursors such as enrollment in science and mathematics courses, which are, in turn, determined by factors such as attitudes toward science, participation in science activities, and science career preference. Participants were 1,501 students, Grades 4 through 10, from a large, national intervention study. Independent variables were gender and grade. Dependent variables measured attitude, activities, and career preference. Multivariate, univariate, and discriminant analysis and chi-square tests of association were used. Girls were less likely than boys to see science as a male activity or to believe they had not received serious attention from their science teachers. In contrast, girls were less likely than boys to see science as a fun puzzle to be solved. On three out of four measures of interest in Realistic and Investigative careers (Holland, 1997), girls showed less interest than boys. There were no gender differences for science activities and no gender-by-grade interaction effects. Results confirm the complex nature of attraction to a career in science and shed some light on differences between boys and girls in the understructure of science career interest.

Predicting stereotype endorsement and academic motivation in women in science programs: A longitudinal model

“…The Fennema-Sherman scale has been used in many studies and has shown excellent psychometric qualities (Broadbooks, Elmore, Pedersen, & Bleyer, 1981;Hyde, Fennema, Ryan, Frost, & Hopp, 1990;Mulhern & Rae, 1998;Tocci & Engelhard, 1991). Moreover, studies that adapted this scale to measure attitudes toward science also revealed very good psychometric properties (Bazler, Spokane, Ballard, & Fugate, 1993;Collier, Spokane, & Bazler, 1998;Levin & Fowler, 1984).…”

Does More Mean Less?: Interest Surplus and the Gender Gap in STEM Careers

“…1 For example, researchers have shown that strong math ability is a significant predictor of entry into STEM careers (Bernstein et al, 2019; McCabe et al, 2020), and that female adolescents show lower levels of exceptional math ability (Ceci & Williams, 2010; Lubinski & Benbow, 2006), as well as lower levels of math self-efficacy (e.g., Sáinz & Eccles, 2012; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2004). Similarly, with respect to vocational interests, studies have shown that Investigative interest is the most significant predictor of pursuing education or careers in STEM fields (Su & Rounds, 2015), and that female adolescents score lower than male adolescents on Investigative interest (Collier et al, 1998; Hardin & Longhurst, 2016; Jacobs, 2005; Su et al, 2009; Tracey & Ward, 1998). Although girls and boys show similar interests and perceived abilities in earlier childhood, they begin to show greater gender differences starting in middle school (Tracey & Ward, 1998).…”

“…The surplus model refers to the idea that when young women have strong STEM-related and strong additional interests (beyond those most related to STEM), their propensity to choose STEM careers should be lower than those women with strong STEM-related interests but weak other interests. According to the surplus model, young women’s lower propensity to choose STEM careers may be due, not only to gender differences in absolute levels of STEM-related interest, as suggested by prior research (Collier et al, 1998; Hardin & Longhurst, 2016; Jacobs, 2005; Su et al, 2009; Tracey & Ward, 1998), but additionally to the possession of additional interests which provide them with a greater array of career choices and thus perceptions of career fit with either STEM or non-STEM fields (McCabe et al, 2020).…”

Evolved sex differences and occupational segregation

“…) There is also little evidence to suggest that girls are discouraged by schools and parents from math and science (Raymond & Benbow, 1986). In fact, girls are less likely than boys to believe that they did not receive serious attention from teachers about science (Collier, Spokane, & Bazler, 1998), and female college students are more likely than males to report that they chose science because of encouragement from parents or teachers (Seymour & Hewitt, 1997). Males, in contrast, are more likely to report choosing science because of long-term interest in the subject.…”