Using the perspective of gender, this study examines the views of science and science-related careers held by students in Kenya. The study is directed at exposing the experiences that girls have of school science education within the historical and cultural context of Kenyan society. The rationale for the study draws on findings showing that education for women in Kenya lags behind that for men, particularly in science education. The study involves 20 students (16 females and 4 males) from 2 schools in Nairobi (Kenya). The students were in their third year of secondary education and studying pure science subjects. The data, which consists of 30 interviews and 2 classroom observations, were collected during a 3-month period in the summer of 1989. The data were analyzed and explored for factors which could deter female students from studying science in high school and from pursuing science and science-related careers. The study showed that boys' and girls' experiences of school science education differ in specific and gender related ways. These differing experiences affect directly boys' and girls' self-perceptions of their ability to study science in high school and to pursue science and science-related careers. Girls in the co-educational school were more likely than boys to have negative experiences of science education. Girls in the single-sex school reported positive experiences with science and held more egalitarian views about women's ability to study science and to pursue science-related careers. Analysis of the data suggests an overall interpretation that young women resist science careers because of the potential conflict with their future roles as wives and mothers in Kenyan society. (Author/CW)