Innovation is not neutral: gender patterns in student innovation narratives within project-based learning in Indonesian higher education

Innovation in Project-Based Learning (PjBL) is usually evaluated based on self-report measures in which the definition of innovation is predetermined, and information on the gender-specific nature of innovation in PjBL is limited outside of Western higher education systems. This study investigates how gender difference is represented in students’ narratives about innovation in PjBL in Indonesia and how institutional structures contribute to its reproduction. Our study used a convergent mixed methods design integrating qualitative and quantitative text analysis using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) applied to 6,211 students in national-scale PjBL to explore whether innovation is expressed differently by male and female participants. Our study found systematic gender differences in innovation engagement, with males dominant in product development of technology-oriented innovations, while females emphasize collaborative innovation and prioritize value-based innovations towards societal impact. However, this pattern is not uniform: a gender × discipline cross-tabulation shows women in STEM articulate a hybrid, implementation-oriented profile distinct from both the male-STEM and female–Social Sciences patterns, indicating discipline is intersectional with gender, not just a background factor. The study is the first to apply the gendered-organizations theory in education context, using an innovative methodological approach combining computational topic modeling with independently validated qualitative coding.