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Why Do Peruvian School Students Choose Science and Technology Careers?

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Education and Technology in Sciences (CISETC 2019)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 1191))

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Abstract

The present study examined the interest of Peruvian school students in careers related to science and technology and the variables that predict such interest. PISA 2015 data was used for this purpose. Students’ expectations for pursuing scientific careers were identified by asking the occupation they expect to be working in by the age of 30. The results were interpreted in the light of the expectancy-value theory, a model that emphasizes attitudes towards goals and the self in explaining self-directed behavior. Accordingly, constructs as instrumental motivation, achievement motivation, science self-efficacy, and interest in broad science topics were studied to understand students’ interest in scientific occupations. The analysis strategy included descriptive analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, binary logistic regression, and interaction effects. The results confirmed the international trend wherein being a woman is associated with lower possibilities of choosing a scientific career. In the same way, socioeconomic status and scientific capital were positive related to scientific career expectations. Both findings might suggest equity issues affecting students’ expectations for scientific and technological occupations. Finally, attitudinal and motivational aspects, especially instrumental motivation, demonstrated to play a role in the intention to study science and technology careers. Recommendations for science teaching in schools and study limitations are addressed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ministerio de Educación del Perú, Oficina de Medición de la Calidad de los Aprendizajes, Lima, Peru

    Alvaro Darcourt, Sadith Ramos, Giovanna Moreano & Wilmer Hernández

Authors
  1. Alvaro Darcourt
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  2. Sadith Ramos
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  3. Giovanna Moreano
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  4. Wilmer Hernández
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alvaro Darcourt .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad Católica de Santa María, Arequipa, Peru

    Klinge Orlando Villalba-Condori

  2. University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Agustín Aduríz-Bravo

  3. University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Jari Lavonen

  4. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Lung-Hsiang Wong

  5. National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan

    Tzu-Hua Wang

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Darcourt, A., Ramos, S., Moreano, G., Hernández, W. (2020). Why Do Peruvian School Students Choose Science and Technology Careers?. In: Villalba-Condori, K., Aduríz-Bravo, A., Lavonen, J., Wong, LH., Wang, TH. (eds) Education and Technology in Sciences. CISETC 2019. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1191. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45344-2_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45344-2_13

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