Analysis of secondary school students' perception of scientists and its impact in STEM education with a Gender Perspective

Resumen

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 conceptions 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 provides information about the informant, the message itself, and its impact and allow us to disclose similarities and differences between male and female students’ perceptions. 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 which are due to social factors.