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Abstract
In the United States, girls and boys have similar science achievement, yet fewer girls aspire to science careers than boys. This paradox emerges in middle school, when peers begin to play a stronger role in shaping adolescent identities. We use complete network data from a single middle school and theories of gender, identity, and social distance to explore how friendship patterns might influence this gender and science paradox. Three patterns highlight the social dimensions of gendered science persistence: (1) boys and girls do not differ in self-perceived science potential and science career aspirations; (2) consistent with gender-based norms, both middle school boys and girls report that the majority of their female friends are not science kinds of people; and (3) youth with gender-inconsistent science aspirations are more likely to be friends with each other than youth with gender normative science aspirations. Together, this evidence suggests that friendship dynamics contribute to gendered patterns in science career aspirations.
Highlights
Many science fields remain male dominated despite years of research and interventions [1,2].Variations over time and across place, suggest that gender norms and systems contribute to differential representation of men and women in specific fields [3,4,5,6]
Boys and girls in the United States achieve similar average scores in math and science according to recent measures [18], yet similar ability has not translated into similar rates of confidence and
This paper focuses on the friendship dimension of science career aspirations in a U.S Midwest middle school
Summary
Many science fields remain male dominated despite years of research and interventions [1,2]. Variations over time and across place, suggest that gender norms and systems contribute to differential representation of men and women in specific fields [3,4,5,6]. Considerable research has focused on how youth career expectations are shaped within school and in extra-curricular contexts where peer social interaction influences activity choices, class enrollment, and career aspirations for boys and girls [16,17]. Boys and girls in the United States achieve similar average scores in math and science according to recent measures [18], yet similar ability has not translated into similar rates of confidence and.
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