The gender gap in STEM fields

Autor(en): Elena Makarova, Belinda Aeschlimann, Walter Herzog
Abstrakt: A major challenge for 21st-century psychological science it to identify factors that contribute to individuals’ decisions to pursue and persist in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) fields. The need for psychological research is particular acute in light of the under-representation of women and persons of color in STEM fields in many industrialized nations. The aim of this symposium is to present a range of European and U.S.-based research programs that share a focus on the role self-concept (self-image, identity) and subjective beliefs about the relation between oneself and the social world interpersonal relationship, the fit between oneself and academic domains, perceptions of supports in the educational environment) in STEM education and career choice. Presenters will report empirical findings on gender identity, conceptions of academic domains, and students’ preference regarding STEM careers; mentoring-based processes and their implications for students’ personal identity as scientists, particularly among students of minority status; gender-based conceptions of math and science fields and the implications of these conceptions for youths’ career choices; and subjective beliefs about supports and barriers in a STEM-education environment and their implications for self-efficacy beliefs and educational progress. The presentations and discussion will seek to underscore ways in which basic research on the self, social-cognitive mechanisms, and interpersonal dynamics can illuminate psychological factors that contribute to students’ desire to participate in STEM fields and their eventual development of successful and fulfilling careers in STEM.
Organisation(en): Institut für Bildungswissenschaft, Institut für Lehrer*innenbildung
Externe Organisation(en): Universität Bern, Eidgenössisches Hochschulinstitut für Berufsbildung
Publikationsdatum: 2015
Peer-reviewed: Ja
ÖFOS 2012: 501016 Pädagogische Psychologie
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 4 – Hochwertige Bildung, SDG 5 – Geschlechtergleichheit
Link zum Portal: https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/5c980044-04a3-4798-9f86-bc8f578ee3d7