bstract
Data gathered from 325 middle school students in
four U.S. states indicate that both male (p < .0005, RSQ =
.33) and female (p < .0005, RSQ = .36) career aspirations
for being a scientist are predictable based on knowledge
of dispositions toward mathematics, science and engineering,
plus self-reported creative tendencies. For males,
strong predictors are creative tendencies (beta = .348)
and dispositions toward science (beta = .326), while dispositions
toward mathematics is a weaker (beta = .137)
but still a significant (p < .05) predictor. For females, significant
(p < .05) predictors ordered by strength of contribution
are dispositions toward science (beta = .360),
creative tendencies (beta = .253) and dispositions toward
mathematics (beta = .200). Additional analyses indicate
that engineering appears to be more closely aligned with
STEM career aspirations for females than for males. These
findings contribute to the growing body of knowledge indicating
that at the middle school level major contributors
to choosing a path toward a STEM career differ for boys
versus girls.
Keywords: middle school, gender differences, STEM career
interest