The presence of women in technology-related studies is scarce, especially when it is compared to the high representation of women in higher education and in humanities and social and health sciences studies. For this reason, the main aim of the study “Evolution of the vocational segregation among adolescents throughout the first and last courses of secondary school” is to analyze from a longitudinal and transversal perspective which motivational factors condition young students’ choice of studies when they transit to junior secondary education and to high school (before and after they made certain academic choices that will condition their future academic and occupational trajectories).

In order to achieve the main goal of this research, students were surveyed in two consecutive years. For the first collection, we surveyed 260 students enrolled in the last course of primary education, 442 students in the last course of junior secondary education and 378 students in the last course of high school (this group only participated in the first group). For the second collection, the same students were surveyed when they were respectively in the first course of junior secondary education and of high school. Eccles’ et alt.’s Expectancy Value Theory of Achievement Motivation has been used as the theoretical framework for the design of the present study. The grades in different subject areas, together with their self-perception of ability in those areas, their intrinsic motivation and utility values in those areas were used to predict the intention of students to pursue studies in the following subject areas: technology and architecture, humanities and social sciences and experimental and health sciences. Some occupational values and uses of computer were also measured.

 

Title: Evolució de la segregació vocacional de les adolescents al llarg dels primers i últims cursos de l’educació secundària [Evolution of the vocational segregation among adolescents throughout the first and last courses of secondary school]

PI: Milagros Sáinz (GenTIC – UOC)

Funding entity: Catalan Women’s Institute (Government of Catalonia) (Ref. U-64/10)

Start date: 15/09/2010 – End date: 15/12/2011

 

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