The Role of Gender and Gender Stereotypes in the Perception of Academic Load and Engagement by Math and Engineering Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2023.5.2396Keywords:
gender differences, student engagement, perception of academic load, STEM, gender stereotypes, Russian universitiesAbstract
Gender disparities in math and engineering fields of study is an important issue not only because it leads to negative socio-economic consequences, but also because it can reduce the quality of the female student experience who find themselves in the minority when studying in these specialties. Empirical evidence about the diligence and engagement of female students in male-dominated educational programs is mixed. This article is aimed to explore gender differences in the perception of academic load and student engagement in mathematics and engineering fields of study, as well as the relationship between adherence to the gender stereotype about better mathematical abilities of males with the indicators under consideration. The empirical sample consisted of undergraduate students of mathematical and engineering specialties studying at 401 Russian universities at the moment of the study (N = 4311). The author finds that females tend to consider their academic load as high, especially if they perceive their teachers to be gender stereotypical. They also study more diligently and are, on average, more involved in class compared to male students. However, exposure to a gender stereotype of female students or their instructors is negatively correlated with student engagement indicators.
Acknowledgements. The research was funded by the grant from the Russian Science Foundation (No. 22-28-00882) https://rscf.ru/en/project/22-28-00882/.
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