Abstract
This study employed social cognitive theory and social cognitive career theory (SCCT) as foundations to explore the influence of high school students’ beliefs about female gender roles and female engineer role models on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) self-efficacy and professional commitment to engineering. A total of 88 students from a national girls’ high school participated in STEM project-based learning. A survey questionnaire named The STEM Self-efficacy and Professional Commitment to Engineering Questionnaire, developed by the researchers, was administered to collect data, and a structured equation model was employed to confirm the multi-theoretical model developed in this study. The results of this study show that enhancing the gender role beliefs and engineer role models of female students may increase their STEM self-efficacy and professional commitment to engineering. In other words, the female high school students’ professional commitment to engineering model can explain students’ intentions for future engineering careers. Thus, this study suggests integrating STEM project-based learning into the curricula of various schools and integrating female engineer role models into STEM project-based learning activities for female students, which can enhance female high school students’ STEM self-efficacy and professional commitment to engineering.
Highlights
Liu, Lou, Shih scholars on women’s careers focused on sex role socialization, using variables such as concepts of female family roles, work roles, and work support to reflect the low self-efficacy caused in areas that are non-traditional realms of work for females, which limits the choices and development of female work (Astin, 1984; Farmer, 1985; Hackett & Betz, 1981)
H4: The female engineer role models of female high school students have a positive effect on professional commitment to engineering
The above-mentioned paths have reached the level of significance; Hypotheses 1 to 5 are confirmed (Figure 2), indicating that enhancing the female high school students’ gender role beliefs and providing a female engineer role model can improve their STEM self-efficacy, which influences their professional commitment to engineering
Summary
Lou, Shih scholars on women’s careers focused on sex role socialization, using variables such as concepts of female family roles, work roles, and work support to reflect the low self-efficacy caused in areas that are non-traditional realms of work for females, which limits the choices and development of female work (Astin, 1984; Farmer, 1985; Hackett & Betz, 1981). This study uses female high school students participating in STEM project-based learning, using social learning theory (SLT) and SCCT as the theoretical framework to explore the correlations among female gender roles, female engineer role models, STEM self-efficacy, and professional commitment to engineering, and to construct a model. According to social cognitive theory, women’s gender role beliefs and female engineer role models were gained through the observational learning process (Ho, Chung, Chang, Ho, Wang & Huang, 2008; Chang, 2010; Bandura, 1986). Research Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of female high school students’ gender role beliefs and female engineer role models on their STEM self-efficacy and professional commitment to engineering
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