Gender Differences in Aspirations and Attainment
A Life Course Perspective

A dynamic and contextualized account of the processes and mechanisms underlying gendered career decisions and attainment across the life course.

Ingrid Schoon (Edited by), Jacquelynne S. Eccles (Edited by)

9781107645196, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 25 September 2014

510 pages, 63 b/w illus. 58 tables
24.6 x 17.3 x 2.8 cm, 0.95 kg

'This book establishes a landmark in the study of changing gender differences over the life course and their determinants. It is a fascinating and very informative collection of analyses into why and how the gender gap in education is reversing. The book offers new theoretical perspectives and a rich set of empirical information on developments in different life phases helping us to understand the new trends in gender inequality.' Hans-Peter Blossfeld, European University Institute, Italy

What is the role of parents, peers and teachers in shaping school experiences and informing the career choice of males and females? Does the school context matter, and to what extent do educational experiences influence young people's self-concept, values and their outlook to the future? Do teenage aspirations influence later outcomes regarding educational attainment and the assumption of work and family related roles? These questions and more are addressed in the chapters of this book, following lives over time and in context. The book is both innovative and timely, moving the discussion of gender inequalities forward, providing a dynamic and contextualized account of the way gendered lives evolve. Chapters address the role of institutional structures and the wider socio-historical context in helping young men and women to realize their ambitions. A unique feature is the longitudinal perspective, examining the role of multiple interlinked influences on individual life planning and attainment.

Part I. Introduction: Conceptualising gender differences in aspirations and attainment: a life course perspective Ingrid Schoon and Jacquelynne S. Eccles
Part II. The Early School Years: 1. Peer influences on gender differences in educational aspiration and attainment Richard A. Fabes, Sarah Hayford, Erin Pahlke, Carlos Santos, Kristina Zosuls, Carol Lynn Martin and Laura D. Hanish
2. Beginning school transition and academic achievement in mid-elementary school: does gender matter? Marlis Buchmann and Irene Kriesi
3. Gender differences in teachers' perceptions and children's ability self-concepts Katja Upadyaya and Jacquelynne Eccles
4. Emerging gender differences in times of multiple transitions Jennifer Symonds, Maurice Galton and Linda Hargreaves
Part III. Career Planning during Adolescence: 5. What shall I do with my life? Motivational, personal, and contextual factors in mastering the transition to high school David Weiss, Bettina Wiese and Alexandra Freund
6. Gendered happiness gap? Adolescents' academic wellbeing pathways Katariina Salmela-Aro
7. Uncertainty in educational and career aspirations: gender differences in young people Leslie Morrison Gutman, Ricardo Sabates and Ingrid Schoon
8. The challenges facing young people in apprenticeships Allison Fuller and Lorna Unwin
Part IV. Choosing a Science Career
9. Do teenagers want to become scientists? A comparison of gender differences in attitudes, expectations and academic skill across twenty-nine countries John Jerrim and Ingrid Schoon
10. Predicting career aspirations and university majors from academic ability and self-concept: a longitudinal application of the Internal-External frame of reference model Philip Parker, Gabriel Nagy, Ulrich Trautwein and Oliver Lüdtke
11. Does priority matter? Gendered patterns of task-values across subject domains Angela Chow and Katariina Salmela-Aro
12. Gender differences in personal aptitudes and motivational beliefs for achievement in and commitment to math and science fields Ming-Te Wang and Sarah Kenny
13. What happens to high-achieving females after high school? Gender and persistence on the postsecondary STEM pipeline Lara Perez-Felkner, Sarah-Kathryn McDonald and Barbara Schneider
14. Young people, gender, and science: does an early interest lead to a job in SET? A longitudinal view from the BHPS youth data Anna Bagnoli, Dieter Demey and Jackie Scott
15. Motivational affordances in school versus work contexts advantage different individuals: a possible explanation for domain-differential gender gaps Jutta Heckhausen
Part V. Longer Term Consequences of Early Experiences: 16. The life course consequences of single-sex and co-educational schooling Alice Sullivan and Heather Joshi
17. Pathways to educational attainment in middle adulthood: the role of gender and parental educational expectations Miia Bask, Laura Ferrer-Wreder, Katariina Salmela-Aro and Lars Bergman
18. How gender influences objective career success and subjective career satisfaction: the impact of self concept and of parenthood Andrea Abele
Part VI. The Role of Context: 19. Gender differences in attainment across generations from a historical perspective Anne McMunn, Elizabeth Webb, Mel Bartley, David Blane and Gopal Netuveli
20. Gender inequality by choice? The effects of aspirations on gender inequality in wages Silke Aisenbrey and Hannah Brückner
21. Comparing young peoples' beliefs and perception of gender equality across twenty-eight different countries Bryony Hoskins and Jan Germen Janmaat.

Subject Areas: Social, group or collective psychology [JMH], Psychology of gender [JMG], Child & developmental psychology [JMC], Psychology [JM], Sociology [JHB]