Gender and vocational preferences in students of Scientific Technological higher education areas

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The current article explores gender influence on Higher Education students‘ academic preferences. For this purpose, we present the results of an investigation in which self-efficacy beliefs and professional preferences are analysed. The main objective of this paper is to study the already mentioned professional preferences and to focus on some of the reasons which make these students choose certain activities. We are also interested in determining whether gender or the concrete studies determine predilections. The sample was formed by 813 students in the second course of different Engineering and Science studies at the University of Oviedo. All of them have anonymously answered a questionnaire which had been previously elaborated by the research group. All the answers have been analysed with SPSS. The results make us able to conclude that there are important differences between these two main groups of students. It also shows that the most evident gender divergences are found in computing. In spite of these results, the investigation verifies that there has been an important evolution in the feminine presence in studies which had traditionally been considered as masculine. To sum up, all these data give us important clues for the diagnosis and about the different counselling processes needed by women and men.