Browsing by Subject "Gender Stereotypes"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Open Access
    Analysis of secondary school students’ perception of scientists and its impact in STEM education with a gender perspective
    (Universidad de Murcia. Servicio de Publicaciones, 2025) Fernández Sánchez, Andrea; Sánche Bello, Ana; Arias Rodríguez, Alicia
    Students’ declining interest in pursuing a STEM education after the compulsory school years lies in their negative attitudes towards Science and Technology (“S&T”) subjects developed during the lower-secondary school years and it is attributed, inter alia, to a stereotyped image of S&T and, in particular, to stereotypes about scientists and the misconceptions about their work. This article analyses students’ descriptive narratives about male and female scientists in order to disclose the stereotypical representations of scientists and scientific work held by high school students. A content analysis approach with a gender perspective was chosen, as this method allows us to disclose similarities and differences between male and female students’ perceptions about scientists and scientific work. The analysis revealed that students consider intellect and innate passion as the main qualities of scientists, and picture scientific work as highly demanding, requiring commitment, engagement, and endeavour. On a personal level students conceive scientists as sociable people, meaning that the socially accepted idea of “folk” science is fading. The study further concludes that students take their families into account as key players in their career decision-making process. They also acknowledge the existence of barriers that hinder the career development of female scientists, barriers unrelated to internal factors such as intelligence, ability, or commitment, but that have to do with social factors.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Open Access
    Models and references that influence gender stereotypes in STEM: a case study in Spain
    (Universidad de Murcia. Servicio de Publicaciones, 2025) Verdugo-Castro, Sonia; García-Holgado, Alicia; Sánchez Gómez, María Cruz; García Peñalvo, Francisco José
    The science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) sector is an academic and professional field with high gender disparity figures despite being a field with a low unem-ployment rate. The “Questionnaire with University Students on STEM Studies in Higher Education” (QSTEMHE) was designed to determine the opinion of the Spanish university population on all branches of knowledge about gender stereotypes in STEM studies. This validated instrument was applied to a university sample of 2101 people from different Spanish universities. A quantitative methodology and the non-experimental ex-post-facto method were used, employing a simple random sampling technique. This study aims to analyse the relation-ship established between the models and references that university students have had and their manifestation of gender stereotypes on the ability to perform in STEM higher education studies. Among the main results, gender stereotypes about STEM degrees persist, considering them masculinised and male-oriented. Furthermore, the study confirms that models and references taken into account when choosing higher education studies impact the perception of men and women regarding stereotypes in STEM