Direito, I; Connolly, J; Simon, S; Trevethan, J; (2017) Gender Differences in Science Interest, Self-concept and Career Aspirations. In: Proceedings of the ESERA 2017 Conference. European Science Education Research Association (ESERA): Dublin, Ireland.

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Abstract

Gender issues in science education have been widely reported in the literature and linked to the underrepresentation of women in science careers, particularly in physics. Drawing on survey data from the European Commission funded project “MultiCO – Promoting youth scientific career awareness and its attractiveness through multi-stakeholder cooperation”, we analyse the English baseline findings of science interest, self-concept regarding science and career aspirations, prior to introducing scenario-based interventions aimed at raising interest in science and future science-related aspirations. The scenarios illustrate careers that use science skills. By examining the responses of 210 English students, it was found that girls are more interested in biology and less interested in physics than boys; and that their self-concept regarding science subjects is significantly lower. The findings also suggest that self-concept is an influencing factor for girls’ interest in science, but not for boys. Regarding career aspirations, helping other people is more important for girls, and making money, inventing new things, and becoming a leader is more important for boys. This paper also presents the preliminary findings of a questionnaire that collected the responses of 31 students after a scenario-based intervention in physics presenting a female scientist, suggesting that girls were more likely to consider pursuing the career covered in the scenario.

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