Interest in Scientific and Technological Careers in Peruvian School Students

Abstract

The present study analyzed Peruvian students’ expectations to get involved in scientific and technological careers and factors associated with those expectations through the analysis of PISA 2015 data. The expectancy-value theory was taken as framework to analyze science career expectations since it considers individuals’ motivation, self-beliefs and attitudes, variables that have been proved to be influential in career choice. Analytical procedures included confirmatory factor análisis and binary logistic regression. Findings confirmed the importance of gender roles, socioeconomic status and scientific capital in the formation of interest in scientific or technological careers as well as attitudinal and motivational factors, as argued by the expectation-value theory.