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Is it all about early occupational expectations? How the gender gap in two science domains reproduces itself at subsequent stages of education: evidence from longitudinal PISA in Australia

Sikora, Joanna

Description

Although the gender gap in non-compulsory science attracts much attention, few studies compare factors that shape it at subsequent life stages. Here, a life-course approach is used to examine the gender gap in science career expectations at ages 16, 23 and 26 for a recent student cohort. Then, a decomposition is applied to assess what share of the gender gap in Year 12 science, university science and post-university employment depends on earlier expectations to pursue a science career. The...[Show more]

dc.contributor.authorSikora, Joanna
dc.date.accessioned2020-09-04T04:00:21Z
dc.identifier.issn0950-0693
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/209323
dc.description.abstractAlthough the gender gap in non-compulsory science attracts much attention, few studies compare factors that shape it at subsequent life stages. Here, a life-course approach is used to examine the gender gap in science career expectations at ages 16, 23 and 26 for a recent student cohort. Then, a decomposition is applied to assess what share of the gender gap in Year 12 science, university science and post-university employment depends on earlier expectations to pursue a science career. The data, collected between 2006 and 2016, come from the population representative Longitudinal Survey of Australian Youth, initiated with the Australian sample of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Pathways into two science domains are contrasted. The first is biological and health sciences (BAH), the second entails computing, engineering, physics and mathematical sciences (CEM). The gender gap in occupational plans to work in science is widest in adolescence before stabilising in young adulthood. Yet, adolescence is also a life stage at which science is most popular as a potential career. Prior to university entry, up to one third of the gender gap in science can be attributed to individual motivation or characteristics. What can be explained, depends predominantly on occupational goals.
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.language.isoen_AU
dc.publisherTaylor & Francis Group
dc.rights© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
dc.sourceInternational Journal of Science Education
dc.titleIs it all about early occupational expectations? How the gender gap in two science domains reproduces itself at subsequent stages of education: evidence from longitudinal PISA in Australia
dc.typeJournal article
local.description.notesImported from ARIES
local.identifier.citationvolume41
dc.date.issued2019
local.identifier.absfor160809 - Sociology of Education
local.identifier.absfor130308 - Gender, Sexuality and Education
local.identifier.ariespublicationu3102795xPUB5439
local.publisher.urlhttps://www.routledge.com/
local.type.statusPublished Version
local.contributor.affiliationSikora, Joanna, College of Arts and Social Sciences, ANU
local.description.embargo2037-12-31
local.bibliographicCitation.issue16
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage2347
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage2368
local.identifier.doi10.1080/09500693.2019.1676933
local.identifier.absseo939904 - Gender Aspects of Education
local.identifier.absseo939903 - Equity and Access to Education
dc.date.updated2020-05-17T08:22:35Z
local.identifier.scopusID2-s2.0-85074353810
CollectionsANU Research Publications

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