CHI TIẾT NGHIÊN CỨU …
Tiêu đề
Gender, Social Background, and the Choice of College Major in a Liberal Arts Context
Tác giả
Mullen A.L.
Năm xuất bản
2014
Source title
Gender and Society
Số trích dẫn
49
DOI
10.1177/0891243213512721
Liên kết
Tóm tắt
Enduring disparities in choice of college major constitute one of the most significant forms of gender inequality among undergraduate students. The existing literature generally equates major choice with career choice and overlooks possible variation across student populations. This is a significant limitation because gender differences in major choice among liberal arts students, who attend college less for specific career training and more for broader learning objectives, are just as great as among those choosing pre-professional majors. This study addresses this gap by examining how privileged men and women at an elite, liberal arts university select their fields of study. Drawing on in-depth interviews, findings contradict the prevailing assumption of a unitary model of major choice as career choice by revealing a plurality of gendered meanings around choosing a field of study. Majors may play an important part in the construction of an intellectual identity as much as a means of career preparation. How students approach the choice relates to both gender and social background. For privileged students, traditional gendered associations with bodies of knowledge hold salience in their decision making as well as expectations of reproducing future elite family roles. This research also illuminates how gendered processes of choosing fields of study take place in relationship to particular institutional contexts. © 2013 by The Author(s).
Từ khóa
college major; college students; gender; higher education; social class
Tài liệu tham khảo
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Nơi xuất bản
SAGE Publications Inc.
Hình thức xuất bản
Article
Open Access
Nguồn
Scopus