Intentions of young students to enroll in science courses in the future: An examination of gender differences

This study examined young students' perceptions of gender-appropriate scien ce courses. The sample consisted of 427 students in grades 4, 5, and 6, bet ween the ages of 9 and 13. Students completed the Course Selection Sheet (C SS) to choose courses for themselves and members of the opposite gender. A psychosocial framework was offered to explain the differential course selec tion patterns between young boys and girls. The study reveals a strong gend er effect pointing toward stereotypical perceptions of selected science cou rses for oneself (p less than or equal to 0.01). When students selected sci ence courses for the opposite gender, the evidence of gender-role stereotyp es was even greater (p < 0.000). Course selection profiles imply that a rec iprocal relationship exists in the number and kind of courses selected by g irls and boys. A detailed analysis suggests that both boys and girls percei ve physical science and technology-related courses as appropriate subjects for boys to study and life sciences as appropriate subjects for girls to st udy. Surprisingly, students' future science course selections resemble curr ent enrollment data of master's and doctoral candidates. The students' perc eptions of science are seen years prior to the actual encounter with the sc ience courses listed on the course selection menu. These findings question the auspiciousness of programs designed to ameliorate gender differences in science during junior or senior high school years. Suggestions for school curriculum development and the importance of informal science experiences w ere examined. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.