Gender stereotypes among women engineering and technology students in the UK: lessons from career choice narratives

In the UK, women remain under-represented in engineering and technology (E&T). Research has, therefore, investigated barriers and solutions to women's recruitment, retention and progression. Recruitment into the sector may be supported by exploring the career decisions of women and men who have chosen to study E&T. Triangulating quantitative and qualitative data from E&T students at a UK university, this paper examines the gendered nature of career choice narratives. It finds that women often maintain contradictory views; upholding gendered stereotypes about women's suitability for the so-called masculine work, yet also subscribing to ideals that the sector is accessible to all who wish to work in it. This is explained using an individualist framework in which women construct an autonomous sense of self, yet are also shaped by a gendered self. Women's discourse around career choice, therefore, reveals the problematic nature of gender norms for achieving gender equity in E&T.     

高职人文教育的现实困境及路径重构

高职人文教育必须植根于人文教育的基础之上。然而,目前我国高职人文教育立足于人文内涵和高职教育需求的自我定位还不明确,高职人文教育处于"边缘化"状态。重构以职业理想为引领的高职人文教育,是解决高职人文教育现实困境的突破口。     

高职大学生职业选择的主观影响因素及对策浅析

近年来,大学生就业问题已经成为国家和社会关注的焦点问题。大学生的就业压力除了来自竞争日益激烈的就业环境,大学生的个人职业选择也是影响其合理就业的重要因素。本文以高职大学生为研究对象,试图通过分析影响他们职业选择的主观因素,提供可行的解决对策。     

The Impact of College Students＇ Self-efficacy of Career Decision-Making through Group Sandbox Games

研究团体沙盘游戏对大学生职业决策自我效能的影响,探索提高大学生职业决策自我效能的途径,可以为大学生的职业指导提供一套可行的实施方案。经过沙盘游戏辅导,大学生在自我评价、收集信息、选择目标、制定规划、问题解决等维度上的得分有了显著的提高。     

高校辅导员如何更有效地开展职业指导

辅导员重视并做好学生职业指导工作,是高校搞好就业工作的重要基础。辅导员要以舒伯的职业生涯发展理论为理论基础,结合毕业生就业过程中出现的问题,重视学生的职业生涯规划引导,对学生实施个性化职业指导,促进学生的全面发展,以期更有效地开展职业指导工作,推动高校的就业工作。     

Roles and Tasks of Field Instructors as Perceived by Chinese Social Work Students

ABSTRACT

From its inception, social work education has consistently embraced the position that field learning is an essential element of professional education. It is through field work that the student has the opportunity to apply knowledge gained in the classroom and to learn the skills necessary for effective social work practice

A study conducted by Fortune et at. (1985) on student satisfaction with field placement revealed that the field instructor or supervisor was a link to student satisfaction with the field practicum. Much has been written on the concept and principles of field education, with discussions on the field instructor's functions in field instruction. However, it seems that such discussions vary greatly in their degree of specificity in spelling out the field instruction tasks. On the other hand, relatively little has been reported on how social work students perceive the roles and tasks of field instructors. It seems obvious that students, with first hand experiences in field work practice, can contribute much to the formulation of knowledge in field instruction

Hence, it is vital and essential to study what social work students actually expect of the roles and behaviors of field instructors as contrast to what is written in the theories of field instruction.

This paper attempts to identify the set of behaviours and tasks perceived by students as important to the work of a field instructor. In the process, it is also envisaged that the “anatomy of field instruction” can be better understood through a clear specification of the activities involved.     

The effect of inquiry-based learning experiences on adolescents’ science-related career aspiration in the Finnish context

ABSTRACT

Much research has been conducted to investigate the effects of inquiry-based learning on students’ attitude towards science and future involvement in the science field, but few of them conducted in-depth studies including young learners’ socio-cognitive background to explore mechanisms which explain how inquiry experiences influence on career choices. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate in what ways and to what extent the inquiry learning experiences in school science affect students’ future career orientation in the context of socio-cognitive mechanisms based on socio-cognitive career theory(SCCT). For the purpose, Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 data were used focusing on science literacy, and the sample of Finnish 15-year-old students (N?=?5782) was analysed by structural equation modelling with the hypothesised Inquiry-SCCT model. The results of the study showed that inquiry learning experiences were indicated as a positive predictor for the students’ career aspiration, and most of its effects were mediated by outcome expectations. Indeed, although self-efficacy and interest in learning science indicated positive correlations with future aspiration, outcome expectation presented the highest correlation with the science-related career. Gender differences were found in the model, but girls indicated higher outcome expectation and career aspiration than boys in Finland.     

Gender differences in high-school learning experiences,motivation, self-efficacy,and career aspirations among Taiwanese STEM college students

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to answer the following two questions: (1) Do significant differences exist in high-school learning experience, interests, self-efficacy, and career aspirations between male and female science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students? (2) Can high-school learning experiences, interests, and self-efficacy significantly predict career aspirations, and do differences exist between male and female STEM students? This study highlighted the gender gap between male and female university students who had already chosen STEM majors with similar academic ability. A total of 407 first-year students were surveyed at a 4-year research university in Taiwan. For the data analysis, a t-test and multiple regression analysis were used, and the findings indicated that male STEM students had greater family support than their female counterparts. The variable of task value could significantly predict STEM career aspirations for both male and female students, whereas the variable of STEM course self-efficacy could only significantly predict that of male students. In conclusion, the findings highlighted that the motivation of task value was a vital factor for predicting STEM career aspirations, whereas the factor of family support was the main gap between male and female STEM students in terms of their high-school learning experiences.     

A Model of Factors Contributing to STEM Learning and Career Orientation

The purpose of this research was to develop and test a model of factors contributing to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning and career orientation, examining the complex paths and relationships among social, motivational, and instructional factors underlying these outcomes for middle school youth. Social cognitive career theory provided the foundation for the research because of its emphasis on explaining mechanisms which influence both career orientations and academic performance. Key constructs investigated were youth STEM interest, self-efficacy, and career outcome expectancy (consequences of particular actions). The study also investigated the effects of prior knowledge, use of problem-solving learning strategies, and the support and influence of informal educators, family members, and peers. A structural equation model was developed, and structural equation modeling procedures were used to test proposed relationships between these constructs. Results showed that educators, peers, and family-influenced youth STEM interest, which in turn predicted their STEM self-efficacy and career outcome expectancy. STEM career orientation was fostered by youth-expected outcomes for such careers. Results suggest that students’ pathways to STEM careers and learning can be largely explained by these constructs, and underscore the importance of youth STEM interest.     

Intergenerational Transfers of Preferences for Science Careers in Comparative Perspective

Using data from 24 countries, which participated in the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), we examine the relationship between parental science employment and students' career expectations. In contrast to prior PISA-based studies, we find that the link between parental employment and adolescent plans to work in science is non-trivial and merits attention. In this context, we consider three versions of the gender socialisation hypothesis. The strong variant posits that girls' plans are shaped solely by their mothers' career pathways while boys model their expectations exclusively on fathers’ occupations. The weaker version of this hypothesis expects children to be influenced more by the same-sex than by the opposite-sex parent. Finally, the third possibility is that, as egalitarian ideologies prevail, parents inspire adolescent occupational plans regardless of gender. These hypotheses are assessed separately for student career plans related to biology, agriculture and health (BAH) in contrast to computing, engineering and mathematics (CEM), because the involvement in these fields of science is known to be segregated by gender. Using two-level multinomial logit modelling, we find some support for the weak version of the gender socialisation hypothesis. Although within-family transfers of preferences for science careers vary considerably across countries, we note certain regularities. In many nations, relevant paternal employment enhances sons' interest in science careers regardless of their field. In contrast, maternal employment inspires daughters in fewer countries and this influence tends to be limited to careers in BAH. We discuss the possible implications of these findings for science educators.