PVA Magazine n°6 (juillet-octobre 2021)

tional choice on the part of girls. Their analysis suggests that the discrepancy is a result of a distinct difference in preference between the genders. Women are under- represented in math and science across the globe. Many nd this fact unacceptable and blame our sexist culture. The reality seems to be more com- plex. Available data shows that the greatest differences are found in the least discriminatory coun- tries, namely Finland, Norway, and Sweden, where career choices are the least affected by 'sexist' cul- tural in uences. Women in these countries tend to choose studies and careers in more 'human' elds rather than in the more lucrative sciences. Stoet and Geary used the 'expec- tancy-value' model introduced by American psychologist Jacque- lynne Sue Eccles to determine whether instead of choosing areas of study based on their general academic achievements, students tended to favour the subjects in which they excelled. Stoet and Geary used data from international organisations focusing on relative rather than absolute skills. The study analysed data from 472,242 adolescent boys and girls from 67 countries, as well as the context in which their educational and profes- sional choices were made. The students selected in each coun- try took a two-hour test where they assessed their knowledge of sci- ence and mathematics as well as their ability to understand a text. PISA's 2015 edition also measured the students' interest in science, the level of student satisfaction in these subjects, and the their abil- ity to assess their own aptitude. The authors also used statistics pub- lished by UNESCO for the period spanning 2012-2015 indicating the percentage of women graduates in science in each country (from 12.4% in Macao to 40.7% in Algeria, with an average of 25.4%). To measure inequality, they used theWorld Things are more complex than they seem

I n France, the study of mathe- matics, and the 'hard sciences' in general, can open the door to successful careers, while stud- ying 'soft sciences', humanities and social sciences, can close them. Surprisingly, a survey by the OECD's Programme for Inter- national Student Assessment (PISA) documented a signi cant gap between the number of girls and boys embarking on scienti c careers in France and around the world, regardless of their apti- tudes. A paper published by the psychologists Gijsbert Stoet and David C. Geary on the underrep- resentation of girls and women in the sciences attempts to determine whether this is a rational or irra-

la psychologue américaine Jacque- lynne Sue Eccles. Ils ont cherché à savoir si, au lieu de choisir leurs do- maines d’étude en fonction de leurs performances absolues, les élèves n’avaient pas tendance à prendre en compte leurs performances re- latives, en privilégiant les matières où ils sont le plus forts. Pour ce faire, Stoet et Geary ont revisité les données de différents organismes internationaux, en s’intéressant aux aptitudes relatives plutôt qu’abso- lues. Ils ont analysé la situation de 472242 adolescents et adolescentes, ainsi que le contexte dans lequel s’opéraient leurs choix scolaires et professionnels dans 67 pays. Ils se sont appuyés notamment sur les données du Pisa de l’OCDE.

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