A survey of 305 undergraduates tested a causal model for choice of computer science as a major. The model found causal differences for males and females. Attitudes toward mathematics played a more complex and stronger role for men, and experience played a stronger, more positive role for women. (Author/MSE)

A causal model for career choice was tested on longitudinal data from 173 students. Results showed clear sex differences. Psychological profit with regard to continued education had a clear direct effect as well as an indirect effect on career choice. (Author)

Tested a structural model of the network of sociocognitive influences shaping children's career aspirations and trajectories among 272 early adolescents. Found that subjects' perceived efficacy rather than their actual academic achievement was the key determinant of their perceived occupational self-efficacy and preferred choice of worklife.…

Among high school students, males' educational and career aspirations were strongly influenced by their academic ability and achievement, while females' aspirations were influenced mainly by parental attitudes and their socioeconomic background. (Author/MJL)

Although women are entering male-dominated occupations at a greater rate, they still tend to avoid those occupations, as well as college majors that require math. Lack of an adequate math background, and thus lower math achievement, seems to effectively bar women from high level, technological, and male-dominated occupations. This study examined…

Summarizes common explanations for the fact that fewer women than men elect to take advanced mathematics courses and enter mathematically oriented careers, integrating this research into a theoretical model first proposed by Parsons and her colleagues for studying students' academic choices and decisions. The utility of the model is discussed.…

A survey (n=2213) of high school seniors from nine Rhode Island schools studied their academic and career choices related to science and engineering and the perceived influences on those choices. Gender differences are discussed for the influences of parents, pay, interest, and teachers, with the latter potentially influencing career choices of…

The personal possibilities that 15-year-olds in Australia and Singapore perceived in relation to their career and leisure pursuits were examined. The extent to which both awareness of options and a consideration of multiple options for self were associated with culture, gender, and class was considered. (Author/MLW)

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that mathematics-related self-efficacy mediates the effects of gender and mathematical preparation and achievement on mathematics-relatedness of college major. The responses of 117 undergraduates to a series of inventories and questionnaires yielded seven variables descriptive of the…

The extent to which locus of control as a general expectancy model relates to career maturity was measured by the Career Maturity Inventory (Crites) and the Career Development Inventory (Super and Forrest). The most striking finding was the career maturity advantage of the internally oriented student. (MF)

The purpose of a study was to provide some practical and theoretical suggestions to science educators in the United States and Korea who are struggling to attract more students to study science and pursue science-related careers. Two research questions were addressed: (1) What are the determinants of Korean high-school students' track choice…

Presents a summary of nine research reports from a National Educational Computing Conference research workshop whose purpose was to bring together researchers who have been conducting gender-related research in computer science education. Three subgroups discussed the issues of exposure, attraction, and retention of women to computer science. (MDH)

A model for gender equity in a rural Appalachia school system is approaching its second year of implementation at the high school level. This model focuses on equity issues, student motivation, and nontraditional coursework. In addition, it addresses career awareness for females, including a strong emphasis on technology and the sciences. Specific…

Focusing on a broad population of Black and White rural Deep South youth of both sexes for the period 1966-1972, this monograph investigates the process through which careers and career-related preferences are developed during adolescence, how such preferences influence early adult behaviors, and what consequences these factors have upon the…

Focusing on the formation of career plans among black and white females, a study was conducted using the theoretical and empirical framework provided by a modified version of the "Wisconsin Model" of status attainment. Data collection was designed to obtain information including parental socioeconomic status, mental ability, academic…