ERIC Number: EJ1416607
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0256-2928
EISSN: EISSN-1878-5174
Available Date: N/A
Correlates of Adolescents' STEM Career Aspirations: The Importance of Academic Motivation, Academic Identity, and Gender
Ei T. Myint; Rachael D. Robnett
European Journal of Psychology of Education, v39 n1 p189-209 2024
The current study focuses on how academic motivation, academic identity, and gender work in concert to predict STEM career aspirations. We examined these relations in a sample of adolescents who predominantly identified as East Asian American (61%), which afforded insight into how career decision-making operates among students who are not well represented in the academic motivation literature. Participants were 629 adolescents (M[subscript age] = 16.09) who attended a US high school. Findings demonstrated that both facets of academic motivation (i.e., STEM self-expectancy and STEM value) were indirectly associated with STEM career interest via STEM identity. The link between STEM identity and STEM career interest was significantly stronger for girls than it was for boys. Although analyses revealed few ethnic differences, the hypothesized mediation model explained less variance for East Asian American participants than it did for participants from other ethnic backgrounds. These findings have theoretical implications for models of STEM identity development and applied implications for interventions that seek to reduce gender disparities in STEM fields.
Descriptors: Student Motivation, Self Concept, Gender Differences, Prediction, STEM Careers, Occupational Aspiration, Decision Making, High School Students, Asian American Students, STEM Education, Student Attitudes
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A