Gender Differences in Attitudes toward Science & Technology among Majors

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-2015

Keywords

Attitudes, Science and technology, Gender, Class standing

Abstract

In the USA, women have consistently been proportionally underrepresented in science and technology (S&T). In these disciplines, as students move from high schools to colleges to graduate programs, qualified women drop out at higher rates than do men, resulting in a striking loss of talented students. Attitude toward a discipline is one of the major factors in students’ choice of majors. As a result, attitudes toward S&T are issues with longstanding attention and interest in education research. Retention of female students in S&T majors remains a major concern. The purpose of the study was to investigate attitudes toward S&T including attitudes toward female participation in S&T, among S&T majors, and examine differences by gender and class standing. Such an investigation would provide deeper insights to help devise strategies to retain women in S&T majors.

Comments

This article was originally published in Journal of Science Education and Technology 24, no. 4 (2015): 509-516. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-014-9541-5

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