Gender and ethnic differences in precollege mathematics coursework related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pathways

Abstract

In 2004, the pattern in academic pathways for high school students in the USA showed that students were completing more demanding mathematics courses. Despite the upward pattern in advanced-level mathematics course-taking, disparities among racial/ethnic groups persisted between 1982 and 2004. Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS: 2002; Ingels et al., 2007), the current study sought to advance understanding of gender and ethnic differences in advanced mathematics course-taking. Furthermore, this study examined how the differences are related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pathways in college. Results showed that the relationships between exploratory factors (both individual- and school-level factors) and advanced mathematics course-taking and STEM choices differed across ethnicity and gender. This highlights the need for further research that disaggregates data by both ethnicity and gender.