The Relationship Between Interest in Physical Science/Engineering, Science Class Experiences, and Family Contexts: Variations by Gender and Race/Ethnicity Among Secondary Students

Drawing from a sample of 1,126 10th-grade students across four school districts in Southern California, this study examined the net effects of family — and science class — related variables on students' interests in a physical science and/or engineering career, with particular attention to variations in these relationships by students' gender and racial/ethnic background. Findings indicate the role of family science orientation is contingent less on gender than on race/ethnicity, and students' perceptions of their science class experiences are not strongly related to their science career aspirations regardless of gender and race/ethnicity. Implications for patterns of underrepresentation in the science and engineering pipeline are discussed.