The Mediating Role of the Perception of Traditionalist Gender Roles in Career Choice on the Association Between Egalitarian Gender Perception and STEM-related Career Preference Among Junior and Senior-Level High School Students

Abstract

The current study aimed to investigate two points among junior and senior-level high school students. First is to examine the mediating role of the perception of traditionalist gender roles in career choice on the association between egalitarian gender perception and STEM-related career preference. Second is to explore differences between gender groups (female vs. male) and school types (Anatolian high school, religious vocational high school, vocational high school, and science high school) in terms of variables and the outcome. A hundred and sixty-four students (76 females, 46.3%; 88 males, 53.7%) between the ages of 15-20 (M = 17, SD = .789) participated in the study. They responded to demographic information form, gender perception scale, and gender roles in career choice scale. Simple mediation analyses showed the mediating role of the perception of traditionalist gender roles in career choice (β = .144, 95% CI [.001, .286], SE = .073, z = 1.971, p = .048), as we hypothesized. Exploratory analyses revealed that students in Anatolian high school and science high school more preferred egalitarian gender roles, and less preferred traditionalist gender roles in career choice than those in other types of school. Also, students in science high school more preferred STEM-related professions. Moreover, female students preferred STEM-related professions more than male students. We discussed the findings in the context of social psychology.