MANAGING GENDER STEREOTYPES IN STEM AND ENHANCING VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR EMPLOYABILITY
MANAGING GENDER STEREOTYPES IN STEM AND ENHANCING VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR EMPLOYABILITY

Summary/Abstract: The paper aims to examine the persistence of gender stereotypes in STEM education and identify opportunities to enhance the inclusivity and attractiveness of Vocational Education. The analytical part of the paper consists of quantitative and qualitative research. Through ordinal logistic regression, the determinants influencing female and male students' attitudes towards gender stereotypes and future careers in STEM fields are analysed. The qualitative part draws on focus group outputs to understand the challenges of this topic in greater depth. University students are more resistant to stereotypes than high school students. At the same time, men tend to believe in gender stereotypes more than women and nonbinary people. An important aspect is positive female role models, which eliminate this adverse persistent phenomenon and increase the inclusiveness of the learning environment for female students. University students are more likely to envision a future in STEM than high school students, and there were no statistically significant differences in the plans of male and female students. Non-binary students are more likely to choose a career in a different field.

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