Exploring Gender Differences in Tertiary Mathematics-Intensive Fields: A Critical Review of Social Cognitive Career Theory

Fuente: arXiv
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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gao, Huayu, Evans, Tanya, Brown, Gavin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Gao, Huayu
Evans, Tanya
Brown, Gavin
author_facet Gao, Huayu
Evans, Tanya
Brown, Gavin
contents Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) has been extensively employed to elucidate the enduring gender differences in mathematics-intensive fields, with a particular emphasis on the complex interplay of motivational factors and extra-personal influences contributing to the underrepresentation of women. Although a plethora of empirical studies corroborate SCCT, three crucial aspects for refinement have come to the fore. First, the theory should place a more substantial emphasis on how cultural and contextual diversity influences academic choices. Second, given the dynamic nature of motivation, which evolves over time, more longitudinal analyses are imperative to capture their temporal trajectory, in contrast to the predominantly cross-sectional empirical studies. Finally, considering the intricate interplay between emotion and motivation, integrating the dimension of emotion into SCCT would significantly augment its explanatory power and provide a more comprehensive understanding of academic selection processes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_12180
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Exploring Gender Differences in Tertiary Mathematics-Intensive Fields: A Critical Review of Social Cognitive Career Theory
Gao, Huayu
Evans, Tanya
Brown, Gavin
History and Overview
Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) has been extensively employed to elucidate the enduring gender differences in mathematics-intensive fields, with a particular emphasis on the complex interplay of motivational factors and extra-personal influences contributing to the underrepresentation of women. Although a plethora of empirical studies corroborate SCCT, three crucial aspects for refinement have come to the fore. First, the theory should place a more substantial emphasis on how cultural and contextual diversity influences academic choices. Second, given the dynamic nature of motivation, which evolves over time, more longitudinal analyses are imperative to capture their temporal trajectory, in contrast to the predominantly cross-sectional empirical studies. Finally, considering the intricate interplay between emotion and motivation, integrating the dimension of emotion into SCCT would significantly augment its explanatory power and provide a more comprehensive understanding of academic selection processes.
title Exploring Gender Differences in Tertiary Mathematics-Intensive Fields: A Critical Review of Social Cognitive Career Theory
topic History and Overview
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.12180