Which are my Future Career Priorities and What Influenced my Choice of Studying Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics? Some Insights on Educational Choice—Case of Slovenia

Abstract

This paper is addressing the problem of under-representation of young people in general, and females in particular, in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in Slovenia. It has two main objectives: (1) to identify which priorities male and female STEM students in Slovenia seek in their future careers, and (2) to identify different important factors (i.e. key persons, previous school and out-of-school experiences) that influenced their choice of studying STEM. The main data collection method was a questionnaire developed within the Interests and Recruitment in Science project group. The sample consisted of 861 males and 420 female undergraduate STEM students towards the end of their first year of higher education and this represented 60.8% of the whole target population. For data analysis, basic descriptive statistics with one-way analysis of variance was used. Our study demonstrates that all students want to do something interesting and fulfilling using their talents and abilities, nevertheless female STEM students favour inter-personal career priorities (i.e. helping other people, contributing to society and protecting the environment) more than males. Mothers and good teachers were found to influence females’ choice of studying STEM significantly more than males’ choice. Interest in STEM subjects was found as an important factor influencing the choice of studying STEM, especially for female students. Females have been furthermore found to be more inspired towards STEM by lessons showing the relevance of the subjects to society. Popular science television channels and programmes were found to have a considerable influence, especially on males’ educational choice.