Gender and the STEM Fields in Education- and Career-Related Discussions between Finnish Parents and their Adolescent Children

Abstract

Occupational gender segregation in Finland is high and persistent in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Previous research has concluded that, rather than differences in aptitude, gendered educational and vocational choices originate from more complex system of attitudes, self-concepts, motivations and both direct and indirect social influences, all of which shape young people’s future goals. In the sphere of social influences on career choice, parents play a special role in adolescents’ education and career exploration. This study explores two interrelated areas: firstly, the ideas expressed by Finnish adolescent children’s parents about the role of gender in education and career choices, and secondly, parent-child discussions about such ideas, especially with regard to STEM career pathways. The research data (N=103) was collected by means of an online survey. Almost half of the parents reported having had discussions about STEM careers with their children. Problematically, many parents considered that they had too little information about these careers. Our results indicate that mothers are more aware of the societal and individual consequences of occupational gender segregation than fathers are. The results also suggest that parents should be provided with up-to-date information on STEM careers and on the consequences of occupational gender segregation in order to enhance parents’ readiness to support their children in their future exploration of education and careers. Greater collaboration between homes, career counseling, teachers and relevant organizations concerned with the economic world, working life and entrepreneurship would be beneficial in promoting awareness of these aspects during adolescents’ career development.

ATS-STEM: Global Teaching Methodology to Improve Competences of Secondary Education Students

“…Thus, female secondary school students valued, to a lesser extent than male students, three of the competences evaluated, highlighting among them the disciplinary STEM competences along with problem solving and metacognitive skills. The gender gap in STEM fields has raised concern in the scientific community [8][9][10][11], where different factors have been identified as generating this inequality [8,10]. In this case, however, contrary to the initial hypotheses, the use of project-based learning methodologies did not make it possible to reduce the differences between boys and girls in secondary schools, even though this strategy has been suggested to favor women's vocational interest in STEM careers and professions [8,9].…”

“…On the one hand, STEM subjects have dense syllabuses that are difficult to assimilate when they are taught in a generic way, using traditional methodologies to impart the basic foundations compared to more innovative methodologies from the didactic point of view [6,7]. On the other hand, studies have found a clear gender gap, with women underrepresented in university careers linked to STEM, which already manifests itself early on [5,[8][9][10][11]. Notwithstanding, it has been shown that a high percentage of pre-university students considered men and women as equally good professionals in STEM jobs [12].…”