Crossdale, R. orcid.org/0000-0002-4766-9612, Scott, F.J. and Sweeney, G. (2022) Decision-making factors of female A-level chemistry students when choosing to study a degree in chemistry. Chemistry Teacher International, 4 (3). pp. 231-242. ISSN 2569-3263
Abstract
Gender issues, and specifically the lack of women in the physical sciences, has been a subject of intense debate for decades. The problem is so acute, that national initiatives have been developed to analyse and address the issues, with some success in STEM, particularly in higher education and also in industry. However, despite this progress, there is little understanding as to why women are less likely to study the chemical sciences in particular. In this research, a survey and interviews were used to find out why female A-level chemistry students choose, or do not choose, to study chemistry at higher education level. Two distinct phases were identified. Firstly, intelligence gathering to understand the location, content, entry requirements, and career options for potential course and institution combinations. Secondly, self-reflection to establish whether, knowing themselves, students feel as though they would be successful on a particular course at a particular institution. These findings align with research into gender imbalance in STEM and Higher Education more broadly, but go beyond this to broaden current debates with a focus on chemistry in particular.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 Rachel Crossdale et al., published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) |
Keywords: | attitudes; culture and education; gender issues; misconceptions |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Sociological Studies (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 15 Jun 2022 13:37 |
Last Modified: | 11 Nov 2022 14:24 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | De Gruyter |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1515/cti-2021-0030 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:187961 |
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