Students, Schools, and Enrollment in Science and Humanity Courses in Israeli Secondary Education

Ayalon, Hanna; Yogev, Abraham

doi:10.2307/1164448

Cited by 13 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Informal stratification of the elective majors exists, as boys and students from an advantaged social background tend to specialize in sciences, mainly physics and computer science, while girls and students from a lower social background tend to specialize in humanities and social sciences (Ayalon and Yogev, 1997). Friedler and Tamir (1990), who reviewed studies carried out in Israel in the 70's and 80's, report large gender differences in STEM in high school.…”

Section: Gender and Stem-fields In Israel's Educational Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A common practice in studies on curriculum differentiation divides fields of study into two categories: the STEM-fields and the humanities and social sciences (Ayalon and Yogev, 1997). STEM-subjects are perceived as more highly regarded, and as providing better opportunities for advancement than humanities and social sciences.…”

Section: Variables and Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The great majority (96 per cent) in our sample indicate they intended to take two or more advanced elective subjects. While constructing the dependent variables, we justified STEM choices over others, as STEM-majors are generally regarded as more prestigious and demanding than others (Ayalon and Yogev, 1997) and because humanities and social sciences are sometimes considered a default for those who cannot choose STEM-fields. Thus, students who intended to take physics and computer sciences were assigned to the hard math-related STEM-field cluster regardless of any other subjects they intended to take.…”

Section: Variables and Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Gender Differences in Fields of Study: The Role of Significant Others and Rational Choice Motivations

Gabay-Egozi¹,

Shavit²,

Yaish³

2014

Eur Sociol Rev

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Although gender inequalities in education have greatly changed in recent decades with young women outpacing young men, girls and boys continue to study in gender-typical fields of study. Recognizing that boys and girls might have different educational preferences, we conceptualized gender differentiation as an outcome of both socialization processes and rational choice factors. Using a data set from an original survey of curricular choices of high school students in Tel Aviv-Jaffa in Israel, we employed nested logit regression models using the KHB method to examine the determinants of the gender differentiation in advanced course-taking. We found that socialization mechanisms (significant other influences) and rational choice motivations (utility considerations and failure expectations) explain up to 40 percent of the gender-typical curricular choice in our data. The implications of these results for future research are discussed.

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Section: Gender and Stem-fields In Israel's Educational Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Variables and Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Variables and Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Gender Differences in Fields of Study: The Role of Significant Others and Rational Choice Motivations

Gabay-Egozi¹,

Shavit²,

Yaish³

2014

Eur Sociol Rev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The elective majors are not stratified formally, and they should in principle all open meaningful educational opportunities. Nevertheless, informal stratification of these majors does exist, such that students from an advantaged social background tend to specialize in the sciences, while those from a lesser social background tend to specialize in the humanities and the social sciences (Ayalon, 1994(Ayalon, , 1995Ayalon and Yogev, 1997).…”

Section: The Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following common practice in the literature on school curriculum (Apple, 1990;Kliebard, 1992;Kamens and Benavot, 1992) we form the nine elective subjects into two groups: the sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Computers, and Biology) and the humanities and social sciences (Economics, Social Sciences, History, Literature, and Communications). The sciences (hereafter hard subjects) are generally regarded as more prestigious than the humanities and social sciences (hereafter soft subjects) and are considered more demanding (Ayalon and Yogev, 1997).…”

Section: The Dependent Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Curricular Choice: A Test of a Rational Choice Model of Education

Gabay-Egozi¹,

Shavit²,

Yaish³

2009

European Sociological Review

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Rational choice theories of education view student's educational decision as a sequence of binary choices between options that entail long-term utility and options that reduce short-term risk of failure. One of the best articulated models of educational choice asserts that choice between alternative options is affected by students' utility considerations, their expectations regarding the odds of success or failure in alternative educational options, and their motivation to avoid downward social mobility. We evaluated these propositions using data on students' curricular choices in Tel Aviv-Jaffa high schools. We found that educational choice was affected by subjective utility and failure expectations, but not by class maintenance motivations. Just as important, and contrary to the model's main assertion, educational inequality between social strata was not mediated by any of these choice mechanisms. Finally, and importantly, about a fifth of the students in Tel Aviv-Jaffa did not choose between long-term utility and short-term risks, but combined the two. These students, the hedgers, combined the riskier scientific subjects that are expected to yield long-term utility with social sciences and the humanities that reduce the risk of failure in the short term, but are not expected to yield large long-term utilities. The hedgers, moreover, were shown to be disproportionately female and drawn from disadvantaged social strata. These results suggest that educational systems that allow multiple rather than alternative choices may enhance the attainment of working-class youth because they enable them to opt for long term utility while providing a safety-net in the form of additional safer subjects.

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When boys and girls make their first career decisions: Exploring the role of gender and field in high school major choice

Slobodin,

Samuha,

Hannona-Saban

et al. 2024

Soc Psychol Educ

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Although choosing a high school major is often adolescents’ first significant career decision, little is known about the factors that enable adolescents to choose a high school major autonomously (i.e., a major that reflects their values and preferences) or the familial and individual constellations that affect this decision. The current study examined the mediating role of adolescents’ identity processing style in the association between perceived parental need support and adolescents’ level of autonomous motivation when choosing their high school major. Second, we examined whether these proposed relationships differed for gender-stereotyped and non-stereotyped fields. The sample was composed of 571 9th -grade students (296 boys) who self-reported their perceived parental need support, motivation for choosing a high school major, identity processing style, and their preference for a high school major. Results showed that an informative identity style mediated the relationship between parental need support and adolescents’ autonomous motivation. Gender played a moderating role in this relationship so boys’ autonomous motivation for choosing a non-STEM major was more strongly linked to parental support than girls’ motivation to make a similar choice. In contrast, girls’ autonomous motivation for choosing a STEM major was more strongly related to the provision of parental support than boys. These findings emphasize the importance of nuanced parental need-support considering the students’ gender and major (STEM vs. non-STEM) and the need to promote self-exploration when deciding on a high school major.

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Students, Schools, and Enrollment in Science and Humanity Courses in Israeli Secondary Education

Cited by 13 publications

References 19 publications

Gender Differences in Fields of Study: The Role of Significant Others and Rational Choice Motivations

Gender Differences in Fields of Study: The Role of Significant Others and Rational Choice Motivations

Curricular Choice: A Test of a Rational Choice Model of Education

When boys and girls make their first career decisions: Exploring the role of gender and field in high school major choice

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