Factors Shaping Qatari Students’ Career Expectations in STEM, Business or Public Sector Fields

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify factors shaping career expectations of Qatari students. The study examined individual and motivational variables likely to influence career expectations in STEM fields, the public sector, and business. This study used survey data of 802 Qatari students and 543 parents from the 2012 Qatar Education Study. The results suggest a varied, context-dependent portrait of career expectations. The results indicate that the education system in Qatar influenced students' STEM career expectations and demonstrate that operating a private business or seeking a job in the public sector continues to rival their expectations about STEM careers in Qatar. The paper concludes with some important implications for policy as well as recommendations for further study and research.

High school students' STEM interests and career aspirations in Qatar: An exploratory study

“…Firstly, Qataris generally tend to prefer public (government) jobs or running a private business, than joining private sector employment [13]. Previous research has shown that Arab nationals generally have a penchant for the public over private sector jobs [12].…”

“…Christensen et al, 2014 have shown that 11 th graders are more likely to have positive STEM attitudes than 12 th graders [27]. In addition, the nationality factor was opted to explore the ethnic variation in STEM and non-STEM professions by Qataris and expatriates J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f 4 [10,12,13]. In general, African, American, and Asian students were significantly more likely to maintain an early STEM interest relative to White students [29].…”

“…In this context, it is also noteworthy that the country's school curricula don't incorporate engineering and technology subjects, thereby don't adequately train students in the same [11]. Followingly the nationals' preferences for public and business-oriented careers [12,13], have made Qatar dependent on expatriates for STEM-related professions [10]. As this might affect the country's economic J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f development, it becomes significantly critical to identify and understand the factors affecting STEM interests and career aspirations among the young generations.…”

Young Adult Women’s Aspirations for Education and Career in Qatar: Active Resistance to Gendered Power

“…Parental support can be in the form of encouragement, instrumental assistance, modeling desired behaviors, or emotional backing (Cheung & Arnold, 2010), and it is either direct, where parents tell their children what is GENDERED POWER AND EDUCATIONAL ASPIRATIONS 8 expected, or indirect, where children see the educational level that their parents achieved and aspire to match or exceed that level (Sawitri, Creed, & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2015). In a study among Qatari students, those who had parents with Baccalaureate degrees were more likely to aspire to careers in science, technology, and related fields than were students whose parents had lower educational levels (Sellami et al, 2017). Yet, higher education can function for women to determine marriageability (Hakim, 2000(Hakim, , 2002, and in Qatar, women may pursue higher education at least in part because they believe that it will make them better mothers or because they believe that modern Qatari men desire educated wives (James-Hawkins et al, 2016).…”

Teaching Style Differences between Male and Female Science Teachers in Qatari Schools: Possible Impact on Student Achievement

“…However, significant differences were not observed between the two genders in interest and attitude toward science during two longitudinal studies conducted among all students in Qatar from primary to university level (Said, Summers, Abd-el-Khalik & Wang, 2016b;Said, Al-Emadi, Friesen & Adam, 2018). BouJaouda and Gholam (2013) found that in the Arab world in general, due to sociocultural factors, girls are less likely to aspire to a STEM career than boys, while Abdulwahed, Ghani, Hasna and Hamouda (2013), and Sellami, Kimmel, Wittrock, Hunscher, Cotter and Al-Emadi (2017) found the opposite in Qatar, where girls' aspiration is significantly higher than that of boys. The latter researchers concluded that "the individual attributes and attitudes, including gender and educational aspirations and motivation, are the main drivers behind students' career expectations"; but they do not mention what these motivation factors might be.…”