Anticipated future labor supply shortages of scientists and engineers have called attention to a national need for greater understanding of the factors influencing the recruitment and retention of men and women in careers in mathematics, science, and engineering. It is particularly important to enhance our knowledge of the barriers to women's participation in these fields. This project will address the following questions: What are the patterns of knowledge, access, and attitudes that lead women to persist in or drop out of mathematics and science? What combination of school, family, and personal/psychological resources best explains the patterns of development experienced by young women in their high school and post-high school mathematics and science careers? What are the typical paths that men follow in their mathematics and science careers and how and why do these differ from the paths women take? Analyses of cross-sectional and longitudinal data from three major nationally representative data sets, High School and Beyond, the National Educational Longitudinal Study, and the Second International Educational Assessment of Mathematics will be conducted in order to explore patterns of young women's (and young men's) achievement in math and science as well as the explanations for these patterns. This project, which is jointly supported by the Sociology Program and the Education and Human Resources Office of Studies, Evaluation and Dissemination, will contribute to a number of areas in the field of sociology, including occupational choice, sociology of education, sex and gender roles, and social stratification. The results of the project will enhance our understanding of how to recruit more young people, male as well as female, into careers in science, mathematics, and engineering.
