Abstract
Cultivation of adolescents’ core literacies in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is the priority for promoting high - quality development of education and economy. However, the key factors that motivate adolescents to pursue STEM careers should be explored. This article aimed to use multi - level mixed Logistic models to examine the effects of family science capital and scientific literacy on STEM career expectations, using the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data among four provinces / municipalities in China. The study found that parents both involved in science - related fields had significant effects on their childrenś opportunities and advantages in pursuing STEM careers, while the impact of the motherś occupations was insignificant. Family science capital could be merged with family material and educational resources and cultural capital for intergenerational transmission. Shapley decomposition showed that scientific literacy was the most important factor that prompted adolescents to pursue STEM careers, with a relative contribution rate of 24. 88%, while family science capital was significantly lower, accounting for 5. 4% . The pathway to encourage adolescents who lack family science capital is to improve scientific literacy and develop the comparative advantage of mathematics. The education system should be increase more adolescents to pursue scientific career ideals, to strengthen early scientific enlightenment education and reverse prejudices against femaleś scientific career choices and opportunities.
| Translated title of the contribution | Who aspires to be a scientist? An analysis of the heterogeneity of family science capital and scientific literacy |
|---|---|
| Original language | Chinese (Traditional) |
| Pages (from-to) | 1368-1378 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Studies in Science of Science |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| State | Published - Aug 2022 |