Saß Steffani, Kampa Nele
Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN), Kiel, Germany.
Front Psychol. 2019 Apr 24;10:836. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00836. eCollection 2019.
One of the most powerful determinants of course selection in upper secondary level is undoubtedly students' self-concept. Students with a high self-concept in a domain are more likely to select a course in that domain. However, according to the dimensional comparison theory, the formation of self-concept includes comparison processes with self-concepts in other domains. Regarding gender, females are less likely to choose physics and are more likely to have lower STEM self-concepts as well as lower aspirations toward STEM careers than males. In Germany, students in Grade 10 choose specific academic tracks to attend during upper secondary school. The academic track choice goes in hand with choosing advanced courses. This choice entails the decision about whether to pursue STEM subjects. We adopted the person-centered approach of latent profile analysis (LPA) to investigate the patterns of students' self-concepts across the five domains, math, biology, reading, English, and physics. Furthermore, we investigated how those patterns influence educational choices regarding science subjects in upper secondary school in Germany. Based on a sample of 1,658 students, we tested whether the distinct profiles of self-concept in different domains in Grade 8 predicted gendered science course selection in Grade 10 as well as career aspirations in science. LPAs yielded four distinct profiles of self-concept that differed in level and shape: high math, high verbal, low overall, and high overall. These profiles were equivalent across gender. Gender differences were manifested in the relative distribution across the four profiles: females were more present in the low overall and high verbal-related self-concept profiles and males in the overall high and high math-related self-concept profiles. The profiles differed regarding abilities, choice of science course in upper secondary level, and science career aspirations.
毫无疑问，高中阶段课程选择的最有力决定因素之一是学生的自我概念。在某一领域自我概念较高的学生更有可能选择该领域的课程。然而，根据维度比较理论，自我概念的形成包括与其他领域自我概念的比较过程。在性别方面，与男性相比，女性选择物理的可能性较小，在STEM领域的自我概念较低，对STEM职业的抱负也较低。在德国，10年级的学生要选择高中阶段具体的学术轨道。学术轨道的选择与高级课程的选择密切相关。这种选择涉及是否攻读STEM学科的决定。我们采用了以个体为中心的潜在剖面分析（LPA）方法来研究学生在数学、生物、阅读、英语和物理这五个领域的自我概念模式。此外，我们还研究了这些模式如何影响德国高中阶段关于科学学科的教育选择。基于1,658名学生的样本，我们测试了8年级不同领域自我概念的不同剖面是否能预测10年级的性别化科学课程选择以及科学职业抱负。LPA产生了四种在水平和形状上不同的自我概念剖面：高数学、高语言、低总体和高总体。这些剖面在性别上是等效的。性别差异体现在这四种剖面的相对分布上：女性在低总体和高语言相关的自我概念剖面中占比更多，而男性在总体高和高数学相关的自我概念剖面中占比更多。这些剖面在能力、高中阶段科学课程的选择以及科学职业抱负方面存在差异。
