Parental and Secondary School Teachers’ Perceptions of ICT Professionals, Gender Differences and their Role in the Choice of Studies

Sáinz, Milagros; Palmén, Rachel; Cuesta, Sara García

doi:10.1007/s11199-011-0055-9

Cited by 31 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(60 reference statements)

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“…In order to evaluate why boys and girls enter different fields of study, future research could explore more subtle forms of parental socialisation and the role of other socialisation agents, such as peers, teachers and siblings (e.g. S ainz et al, 2011;Kiuru et al, 2012;Anelli & Peri, 2014;Van der Vleuten, 2018). This field would benefit from research that studies the relative contribution of different socialisation practices and agents to gender differences in the fields of study that adolescents enter.…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intergenerational transmission of gender segregation: How parents’ occupational field affects gender differences in field of study choices

Vleuten

Jaspers

Maas

et al. 2018

British Educational Res J

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The study explores how parents' occupational field affects gender differences in educational fields. On the one hand, the theory of direct transfer predicts that adolescents enter fields similar to those of their parents because of intergenerational transmission of occupation-specific resources and that adolescents are more likely to draw upon the resources provided by the higher-status parent. On the other hand, the theory of sex-role learning predicts that boys and girls are more likely to choose more gender-stereotypical fields of study because they learn 'appropriate' gender-role behaviour from their parents' occupational field and that boys are more likely to learn this behaviour from their father and girls from their mother. We use longitudinal data collected from adolescents and their parents in the Netherlands (N = 2,497) and tested our hypotheses using multiple-group structural equation modelling and multinomial regression analyses. In line with sex-role learning, results show that especially mothers who are employed in a more feminine occupational field influence their daughters to enter a more feminine field of study (health, biology, agriculture and veterinary) and their sons to enter a more masculine field of study (science and technology). Mothers' occupational field therefore not only influences girls' field of study, but also boys'. This study highlights the role of horizontal characteristics when examining which field of study adolescents enter. Contrary to the stratification literature, which primarily focuses on fathers, this study concludes that mothers play a more important role in gender differences in fields of study.Keywords: parents' occupational field; field of study; gender differences This research was supported by the Dutch Scientific Organisation (NWO) research talent grant entitled 'Gendered Choices: school and field of study trajectories of male and female adolescents in four European countries' [grant number 406-12-018]. Additionally, financial support from the NORFACE research programme on Migration in Europe -Social, Economic, Cultural and Policy Dynamics and from "NWO middelgroot" [480-11-013] is acknowledged. *Corresponding author. Department of Sociology/ICS, Radboud University Nijmegen, Thomas van Aquinostraat 6, 6525 GD Nijmegen, The Netherlands. E-mail: m.vandervleuten@maw.ru.nl. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.British Educational Research Journal Vol. 44, No. 2, April 2018, pp. 294-318 DOI: 10.1002 Introduction Boys and girls are still segregated into different occupational fields, partly owing to persistent gender differences in fields of study. Boys are more likely to enter gender-stereotypical masculine fields of study such as engineering and mathematics, whereas girls are more likely to enter gender-stereotypical feminine fields such as the hum...

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Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intergenerational transmission of gender segregation: How parents’ occupational field affects gender differences in field of study choices

Vleuten

Jaspers

Maas

et al. 2018

British Educational Res J

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show abstract

“…Some studies (Sáinz & López-Sáez, 2010;Sáinz, Pálmen, & García-Cuesta, 2012;Stockdale & Keane, 2016) suggest the relationship within the family and teachers as key factors. Sainz et al (2012) examine parents' and teachers' opinions about male and female career and occupational aspirations using focus groups in five secondary Spanish schools.…”

Section: Influence Of Family and Teachersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are Boys and Girls still Digitally Differentiated? The Case of Catalonian Teenagers

2017

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Aim/Purpose: This article presents a study of ICT use and attitudes related to the computer use of girls and boys from Catalonia in order to detect which gender differences may explain the low presence of women in the ICT field and to design a proposal of actions in schools to help reduce these differences. Background: Since the number of women in the field of ICT remains very low, this study looks into the factors that influence girls’ lack of interest in ICT field. Methodology: The study collected data from 29 randomly selected public secondary schools in Catalonia with a total of 1,920 students (972 boys and 815 girls aged between 11 and 13 years old); it analyzes socio-demographic data, frequency and type of computers use and attitudes and self-efficacy on ICT use. Contribution: The study concludes there is a prevalence of stereotypes about the differences of skills and professional vocation among the teenagers and a gender difference when we focus on attitudes toward computers or self-efficacy. Findings: Boys and girls face computer use in different ways and both have a stereotyped image of their mothers’ and fathers’ digital skills and ICT jobs. Girls present higher levels of anxiety than boys when using a computer and lower self-confidence. Boys have higher self-efficacy than girls when asked for their perception about doing tasks with computers. Impact on Society: Policy makers must design strategies to minimize these gender differences in order to engage more girls in technological studies and minimize this imbalance. Future Research: Future research is needed, in the Catalan context, about whether the intensive use of computers in schools can influence the reduction of the gender-gap and identify which interventions must be made to maximize its effect.

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“…For example, the skills shortage can be attributed to a decrease in the number of students enrolling in IT courses post-secondary school or graduates not considered to be employable because they are not work ready. Further factors include lack of job security, the need to constantly update skills to match market demand, the negative perception of workers as nerds or geeks, perceptions the profession is boring, or not understanding Information Technology as a discipline to be able to make an informed career decision (Australian Computer Society, 2008, 2012, 2015Google, 2014;Koppi et al, 2008;Sáinz, Pálmen, & García-Cuesta, 2012;Thomas & Allen, 2006).…”

Section: Gender Diversity In Itmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influencing the Influencers: The Role of Mothers in IT Career Choices

Stockdale¹,

Keane²

2016

JITE:IIP

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This paper reports on the outcomes from a pilot study targeted at mothers of school children in Melbourne, Australia. The aim of the study was to engender a positive view of technology in the participants and to introduce the concept of Information Technology (IT) as a potential career. Mothers were given the opportunity to develop basic IT skills and learn about different IT career pathways for their children with an emphasis on their daughters' choices. Mothers were offered an evening course over a four week period that was designed to introduce them to a range of social media and Web 2.0 tools. Their opinions were documented using both questionnaires and informal discussions. It explored whether their attitudes towards IT can be changed by up-skilling and introducing them to the technologies their children commonly use. The findings of the pilot study suggest that addressing this demographic has the potential to make the participants question their pre-conceptions about IT careers for women.

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Parental and Secondary School Teachers’ Perceptions of ICT Professionals, Gender Differences and their Role in the Choice of Studies

Cited by 31 publications

References 44 publications

Intergenerational transmission of gender segregation: How parents’ occupational field affects gender differences in field of study choices

Intergenerational transmission of gender segregation: How parents’ occupational field affects gender differences in field of study choices

Are Boys and Girls still Digitally Differentiated? The Case of Catalonian Teenagers

Influencing the Influencers: The Role of Mothers in IT Career Choices

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