Tracking High School Students' Pathways to Male- and Female-Dominated STEM Careers

• In Event: Roundtable Session 30
  In Roundtable Session: Pathways and Academic Experiences

Abstract

STEM has recently become bifurcated into male and female dominated fields, making it crucial to no longer consider STEM as one uniform, male-dominated concept. This study uses the Education Longitudinal Study nationally representative dataset to examine students’ decisions to choose a STEM major, earn a STEM bachelor degree, and have a career particularly in male or female dominated STEM fields. Results show, most high school students expect to go into careers traditionally associated to their gender, which matters greatly for declaring a major, earning a degree, or having a career in male- or female-STEM. Self-efficacy, course completion and math achievement are less effective indicators. Educators should encourage students to pursue careers contrary to how the STEM field is gender stratified.

Authors

• Marcela Reyes, California State University - Irvine

• Melissa Powell, University of California - Irvine

• Anne McDaniel, The Ohio State University