Why secondary students do not tend to pursue ICT-related studies?

Abstract

Female secondary students are found to be less interested in computer and technology-related domains than their male counterparts. This study is being carried out in Catalonia (Spain) with a sample of 900 secondary students enrolled in the last course of the Spanish secondary compulsory system (average age=16). The main aim of this research is to analyze the role played by different psychosocial variables in explaining secondary students’ choice of ICT-related studies. Boys are predicted to have a higher perception of their math and computer ability consequently and also will be more likely to pursue ICT-related studies than their female counterparts. It is also hypothesized that computer self-ability is the best predictor of ICT-related studies, even a better predictor than math-ability of ICT-related studies. All findings will be discussed, together with their theoretical and practical implications.