Is It Really a Paradox? A Mixed-Methods, Within-Country Analysis of the Gender Gap in STEM Education
It is well established that women’s representation in scientific and technical fields decreases with societal affluence, but the mechanisms underlying this so-called paradox remain contested. This study leverages distinctive features of the Israeli educational system to identify social psychological...
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/4/238 |
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| author | Islam Abu-Asaad Maria Charles Yariv Feniger Gila Manevich-Malul Halleli Pinson |
| author_facet | Islam Abu-Asaad Maria Charles Yariv Feniger Gila Manevich-Malul Halleli Pinson |
| author_sort | Islam Abu-Asaad |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It is well established that women’s representation in scientific and technical fields decreases with societal affluence, but the mechanisms underlying this so-called paradox remain contested. This study leverages distinctive features of the Israeli educational system to identify social psychological and organizational mechanisms driving contextual variability in the gendering of physics and computing subjects. Using in-depth interviews and original surveys, we compare gender gaps in ninth graders’ attitudes and aspirations across two highly segregated yet centrally administered state school sectors: one serving the socioeconomically marginalized Arab Palestinian minority, and one serving the Jewish secular majority. Results reveal curricular affinities, discourses, and course-taking patterns that are differentially gendered across school sectors. While boys and girls in Arab Palestinian schools report more instrumentalist motivations and more positive attitudes toward mathematically intensive fields, students in Jewish schools engage in highly gendered, self-reflexive discourses that support gendered course-taking. Findings support arguments positing gender-specific effects of postmaterialist, individualistic value systems, and suggest that the cultural and organizational processes that generate larger gender gaps in more affluent countries may also play out within countries. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fd76b9895d8f4cbe8a27b1cb982ec4a1 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-fd76b9895d8f4cbe8a27b1cb982ec4a12025-08-20T03:13:32ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602025-04-0114423810.3390/socsci14040238Is It Really a Paradox? A Mixed-Methods, Within-Country Analysis of the Gender Gap in STEM EducationIslam Abu-Asaad0Maria Charles1Yariv Feniger2Gila Manevich-Malul3Halleli Pinson4School of Education, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 8410501, IsraelDepartment of Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9430, USASchool of Education, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 8410501, IsraelSchool of Education, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 8410501, IsraelSchool of Education, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 8410501, IsraelIt is well established that women’s representation in scientific and technical fields decreases with societal affluence, but the mechanisms underlying this so-called paradox remain contested. This study leverages distinctive features of the Israeli educational system to identify social psychological and organizational mechanisms driving contextual variability in the gendering of physics and computing subjects. Using in-depth interviews and original surveys, we compare gender gaps in ninth graders’ attitudes and aspirations across two highly segregated yet centrally administered state school sectors: one serving the socioeconomically marginalized Arab Palestinian minority, and one serving the Jewish secular majority. Results reveal curricular affinities, discourses, and course-taking patterns that are differentially gendered across school sectors. While boys and girls in Arab Palestinian schools report more instrumentalist motivations and more positive attitudes toward mathematically intensive fields, students in Jewish schools engage in highly gendered, self-reflexive discourses that support gendered course-taking. Findings support arguments positing gender-specific effects of postmaterialist, individualistic value systems, and suggest that the cultural and organizational processes that generate larger gender gaps in more affluent countries may also play out within countries.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/4/238genderSTEMtechnologygender equality paradoxsecondary educationIsrael |
| spellingShingle | Islam Abu-Asaad Maria Charles Yariv Feniger Gila Manevich-Malul Halleli Pinson Is It Really a Paradox? A Mixed-Methods, Within-Country Analysis of the Gender Gap in STEM Education Social Sciences gender STEM technology gender equality paradox secondary education Israel |
| title | Is It Really a Paradox? A Mixed-Methods, Within-Country Analysis of the Gender Gap in STEM Education |
| title_full | Is It Really a Paradox? A Mixed-Methods, Within-Country Analysis of the Gender Gap in STEM Education |
| title_fullStr | Is It Really a Paradox? A Mixed-Methods, Within-Country Analysis of the Gender Gap in STEM Education |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is It Really a Paradox? A Mixed-Methods, Within-Country Analysis of the Gender Gap in STEM Education |
| title_short | Is It Really a Paradox? A Mixed-Methods, Within-Country Analysis of the Gender Gap in STEM Education |
| title_sort | is it really a paradox a mixed methods within country analysis of the gender gap in stem education |
| topic | gender STEM technology gender equality paradox secondary education Israel |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/4/238 |
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