Are Explanations for Gendered Career Aspirations and Senior High Enrolment in Math Domain Specific? Are Explanations for Gendered Career Aspirations and Senior High Enrolment in Math Domain Specific? Expectancy-Value Influences for Math & English Using Longitudinal Data Paper presented in Symposium titled ‘Math and Science Courses, Grades and Career Goals: Longitudinal perspectives on the influence of gender and beliefs’ (Discussant – Prof. Jan Jacobs) at the SRA Biennial Conference: Baltimore, March 11-14, 2004 Helen Watt (University of Western Sydney)

Key Questions Gendered participation in maths/English? Influences of gender, self-perceptions, values and task demands? Domain specificity?

Sample N=459 (43% girls) Surveys grades 9, 10, 11 3 upper-middle class coed. secondary schools in metropolitan Sydney NSW Australia

Measures Career plans: Open-ended: coded for maths/English-relatedness using O*NET TM 98 4 categories of ‘high’, ‘average’, ‘any’ and ‘no’ maths/English content Senior high (HSC) plans: Maths in Practice (MIP), Maths in Society (MIS), 2U, 3U, 4U Contemporary English, General, 2U, 3U Expectancy-Value constructs: self-perceptions (talent and success expectancies combined), intrinsic and utility values perceived task difficulty and effort required

Analyses CFAs for Expectancy-Value constructs Multiple discriminant analyses to assess interval level for choice outcomes Dominance analysis for gendered choices MANOVA for influences on choices, gender on influences MANOVA 1, MANOVA 2

Construct Validity - Construct Validity - CFA’s higher-order self-perceptions (talent perceptions & success expectancies combined), perceived task difficulty and effort required intrinsic value and perceived utility Outcome Variables Level of Measurement: career and HSC outcomes substantially explained by one discriminant function proceeding along roughly interval scales (only 68% of English CAREER PLANS explained)

d’s from.16 to.21  ’s:.51,.50 Maths Career Plans

Maths HSC Plans d’s from.18 to.19  ’s:.62,.71

Intrinsic Value and Maths Career All Yr 9 and Yr 10 pairs sig.diff.

Utility Value and Maths Career

Intrinsic Value and HSC Maths All Yr 9 and Yr 10 pairs sig.diff.

(Yr 9) Self-Perceptions and HSC Maths All pairs sig.diff.

(Yr 9) Perc. Effort and HSC Maths mid similar to hi

Yr 9 Gender Effects on Maths E-V n.s.

Yr 10 Gender Effects on Maths E-V n.s.

English Career Plans d’s from.13 to.17  ’s:.58,.56

NNote. Grade 11 English course selections are actual rather than intended senior high selections. These schools however did not offer 3 unit English commencement until grade 12, explaining the apparent lack of grade 11 students electing the highest 3 unit level. English HSC Plans d’s from.15 to.32  ’s:.49,.36

Influences on English Career ? 32% variance unaccounted for by one discriminant linear function may relate to non-significant findings.

Self-Perceptions and HSC English Yr 9: All pairs sig.diff. Yr 10: mid similar to lo

Yr 9 Gender Effects on English E-V n.s.

Yr 10 Gender Effects on English E-V n.s.

Importance of the Study robust support for gendered participation in maths/English extends operationalisation of participation to career plans E-V influences on maths/English participation Maths: gendered intrinsic value, self-perc, effort. Gender X utility interaction English: self-perc gendered E-V influences on maths/English choices?

Domain Specificity? Despite similarly gendered participation outcomes in English (although favouring girls), patterns of influence are different from those in maths. ‘Values’ did not predict English participation. Only ‘self perceptions’ predicted senior high English participation, no sig. influences on English-related career plans. Domain-specificity (cultural specificity?) for patterns of influence and the need for further research.

Extra slides have correlations in case asked …

Values Correlations MATHS: Yr 9 r=.41, Yr 10 r=.45 ENGLISH: Yr 9 r=.37, Yr 10 r=.39 Self-Perc & Values Correlations MATHS - intrinsic: Yr 9 r=.49, Yr 10 r=.55 MATHS - utility: Yr 9 r=.29, Yr 10 r=.34 ENGLISH - intrinsic: Yr 9 r=.59, Yr 10 r=.66 ENGLISH - utility: Yr 9 r=.33, Yr 10 r=.24

Maths – grade 9

Maths – grade 10

English – grade 9 ?

English – grade 10 ? ? ?