Gender stereotypes and gendered vocational aspirations among Swiss secondary school students.

Autor/inn/en	Hadjar, Andreas; Aeschlimann, Belinda
Titel	Gender stereotypes and gendered vocational aspirations among Swiss secondary school students.
Quelle	In: Educational research, 57 (2015) 1, S. 22-42Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0013-1881; 1469-5847
DOI	10.1080/00131881.2014.983719
Schlagwörter	Einstellung (Psychologie); Familienstruktur; Geschlechterrolle; Geschlechtsspezifischer Unterschied; Eltern; Sekundarbereich; Lehrer; Schüler; Schülerin; Berufsziel
Abstract	Background: Horizontal gender inequalities appear to be rather stable, with girls more often choosing 'female' service professions, and boys choosing career paths related to science, technology, engineering or Mathematics. Purpose: Non-egalitarian patriarchal gender-role orientations and gender associations (perceived femininity) of the school subjects German Language Arts and Mathematics are theorised - triangulating different theoretical backgrounds - and empirically analysed as a major predictor of gender-typical vocational aspirations, considering interest in these school subjects as a mediating factor. Furthermore, we focus on a patriarchal relation of father's and mother's workforce participation as a root of gender-role orientations, and teacher gender in regard to its impact on gendered images of subjects. Sample: Empirical analyses are based on survey data from eighth-graders (around the ages of 14 and 15 at the time of data gathering) in the Swiss canton of Bern. The sample only encompasses children from two-parent families, as patriarchality in terms of differences in workforce participation between father and mother is taken into account. Design and methods: The research issues are analysed employing structural equation models. The statistical package Mplus allows for an analysis of the two dependent dichotomous variables 'gender-typical vocational aspiration' and 'gender-atypical vocational aspiration'. The hierarchic structure of the sample (school class clusters) is taken into account. Results: Findings reveal different patterns for boys and girls; for boys, gender-typical (male) vocational aspiration could be explained to a small extent via gender-role orientations, interest in Mathematics and gender associations of school subjects; for girls, the factors under consideration could be empirically linked to 'atypical vocational aspiration'. Teacher gender only has an impact among girls: if girls are taught by a female Mathematics teacher, they perceive the subject as a bit more female and show a higher interest in this subject. Their likelihood of having a gender-atypical vocational aspiration is a bit higher than among girls with a male Mathematics teacher who perceive the subject as a bit less female and, thus, show somewhat lower interest in this subject. Conclusions: There are still links - although weak - between gender stereotypes and vocational aspirations. Gender-role orientations are rooted in the family. A sensitisation towards gender stereotypes and their impact on aspirations and career would appear to be meaningful in broadening the vocational perspectives of men and women. (ZPID).
Erfasst von	Leibniz-Institut für Psychologie, Trier
Update	2026/3