Abstract
Students face diverse pathways as they journey through undergraduate study.
The analysis of student course records can untangle common patterns in course
progression, and identify group trends in student outcomes. The current work
examines the relationship between gender and undergraduate physics study, using
course records from over nine thousand students who enrolled in physics at the
University of Auckland, spanning a six year period. Science capital, a concept
related to the Bourdieusian notions of capital and habitus, was employed as a
research framework.
Physics students' demographic and course records were analyzed to find out
whether there were gender differences in their subject selection, course
performance, and confidence. At stage one, gender differences were not present
among highly academically prepared students, for whom school type was a better
predictor of course outcome. However, of those students who were less
academically prepared at stage one, male students tended to outperform female
students. Female students were also more likely to take to take an introductory
physics course before an advancing course, compared to male students, after
controlling for academic preparation.
Subsequent to taking a stage one physics course, female students were more
likely to take further courses in life science subjects, while male students
were more likely to take physical science subjects. We relate these findings to
Bourdieu's concept of habitus --- a potential mechanism by which socio-cultural
factors disproportionately discourage female students from seeing physics as a
realistic study option. Thus, habitus may influence both their performance
within a course and their choice of subsequent course. Taken together, our
findings suggests that the female embodiment of science capital may not be as
valued in the physical sciences as it is in the life sciences.
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