Factors and Influences on High School Students' Career Choices

The Social Factors Influencing Undergraduate Females to Study Mathematics and Physics

“…This is consistent with previous research (Dick & Rallis, 1991;Gadalla, 1998;Pertiller, 2006) that states that females' interests influence their MCSER Publishing, Rome-Italy Vol 4 No 12 October 2013 84 intentions to pursue a particular career and that interest is the most common reason influencing females' decision for choosing physics as a career (Ivie & Guo, 2006). Socializers, specifically parents and teachers, were influential in the females' decisions-through encouragement and support and/or by being role models.…”

“…Based on the participants' recollections, these factors increased their interest in and enjoyment in doing mathematics and science. Parental support and encouragement have also been reported by other researchers (Catsambis, 2005;Dick & Rallis, 1991;Muller, 1998;Robinson, 2006) as significant, because of their impact on students' attitudes towards mathematics, achievements and participation in mathematics, career aspirations, career-choice development, and future selections of mathematics-and science-related majors. In addition, the females appeared confident in their mathematics abilities; they described mathematics as manageable and felt that they could excel in mathematics-related disciplines.…”

“…That is, the attitudes and behaviours of parents, teachers, counsellors, and peers have consequences on female enrolment choices in mathematics (AAUW, 1992;Leedy et al, 2003). Research findings also indicate that these social groups think that males will outshine females in subjects such as high school calculus, and as a result, less encouragement is given to females in the pursuit of mathematics (Brush, 1980;Dick & Rallis, 1991;Meece et al, 1982;Paa & MacWhirter, 2000) To this day, very little research has been conducted in Canada on female students pursuing nontraditional careers at the university level. As a result, the explanations for the under representation of female students pursuing careers in mathematics-related disciplines at the university level remain indistinct and need further in-depth research.…”

“…This study was framed around a theoretical model of career choice developed by Dick and Rallis (1991). In this model, between a student's aptitude and her career choice stand several factors that affect the outcome.…”

“…Specifically, it focused on the role that socializers (e.g., parents, teachers, peers, and counsellors) play in the career-related decision making of young females. In the United States and in Canada, female students seem hesitant to engage in career paths that require advanced mathematics skills, such as pure mathematics, computer science, engineering, and physics, despite their levels of attainment and participation in mathematics courses that match those of their male counterparts (Cavanagh, 2008;Catsambis, 2005;Dick & Rallis, 1991;Hanna, 2003). This is evident from the growth in females' enrolments in the undergraduate programs in the Canadian universities where the majority of the enrolment remains in the areas of humanities, social, and behavioral sciences whilst their enrolments in mathematics, computer science and information sciences fields continue to decline (Statistics Canada, 2008).…”