This study examines the role of career guidance counselors in ensuring that girls benefit from high-status subjects offered in schools. What are the perceptions of career counselors towards girls and high status subjects such as Physical Science and Technology.
2.0 Literature Review
Gender and Subject Choices
Subject choices between girls and boys differ: many more boys than girls choose Mathematics and Physical Sciences as part of their subject packages; there are a variety of reasons why this happens. High status subjects such as Mathematics and Science control access to high status areas in the labor market. Biological differences often explain why boys take up Mathematics and Science: boys are mostly positioned as rational and therefore logical thinkers.
School may offer a wide range of choices, but girls may actively resist subjects such as math and science. Paechter (2000) notes that many girls who have completed secondary school with Design Technology as a subject in Mathematics and Natural Sciences continue with their studies in Food or Textile Technology. John Archer (1992) found that boys view 'masculine' subjects such as mathematics and science as 'interesting', while girls view them as 'difficult'.
Both girls and boys used each other as a negative reference group in maintaining gender boundaries; for example, girls saw taking stereotypically male subjects such as Physics as a threat to their feminine identity.
Gender and Career Guidance
They presented the idea that teachers need to be made aware that they can consciously teach the obvious curriculum, hidden. Therefore, it is critical that counselors and parents gain some understanding of the complex issues and factors that hinder young girls from expanding the scope and field of study they can pursue given opportunities. Career guidance can be hindered by hidden curriculum and perceptions, including past relationships, in encouraging girls to pursue these previously male-only fields of study.
How specific women broke with the restrictions of the traditional careers and successfully established themselves in the economy, it is important to understand that choices are not fixed and that women and girls can achieve success in areas that are typically male and masculine. be considered. Simple cause and effect approaches do not take into account the reality of the situation. A further problem that is evident is the encouragement of girls in Physical Science stems from the competence and ability of science.
The recommendations set out in GETT (1997) suggest a reform program that will span several years, with gender equality being one of the main considerations when structures and resources are made available.
Conclusion
School career guidance can play a crucial role in ensuring that young girls include high-status subjects in their subject choices at the end of Year 9. class so that their future career opportunities are able to target the labor market in non-traditional fields. Effective career education can contribute significantly to women and girls' economic empowerment and broad opportunities in high-status careers (GETT, 1997). This study considers counselors' perceptions of girls in high-status subjects in five schools in Durban.
Effective career guidance in schools is important for promoting girls' career opportunities in high-status areas of the labor market. The high status curriculum in schools often includes learning areas such as mathematics, science and now, more recently, the new learning area called engineering, manufacturing and technology. It is imperative to understand career counselors' perceptions of girls in relation to high-status topics, and the impact of this on career opportunities for young girls.
What are the implications of career counselor perceptions of girls and high-status subjects on future career opportunities for young women.
Objectives of the Study
Research Design
Qualitative research allows participants to reveal information, their meanings and their perceptions towards certain phenomena, in this case their perceptions towards girls and high-status individuals. When we refer to qualitative research, we use the term to denote the type of research in which the qualities, characteristics, or properties of a phenomenon are examined for better understanding and explanation. In this study, interviews were conducted to better understand career counselors' perceptions of girls and high-status individuals.
Research Methodology Sample
To ensure the reliability of the study, pseudonyms were used and all data were transcribed verbatim. This is due to the financial constraints in schools and the new PPN requirements that make it impossible to have specialist careers advisors in all schools. After consent was granted, I spoke to all participants to tell them what the study was about.
The interviews with each participant were conducted privately and were recorded on audio tape. In this study, I was able to control the nature and form of the interview process by allowing questions and encouraging responses that were within the main purpose of this study. By this they mean that respondents and researchers build some mutual understanding as meanings emerge during the interview.
Here, the interviewee should not be seen as a vessel of information, but as a research partner who also tries to capture the essence of the particular phenomenon.
Data Analysis
My status as a subject advisor was useful as it gave me access to the schools, but it is also possible that the participants were simply answering questions posed by an "authority". I have a lot of power as a subject advisor and I'm not sure to what extent the participants felt intimidated or said the 'right' things. As much as possible, I tried to conduct the interviews in ways that were friendly and tried to minimize my power as an authority figure.
Conclusion
Research Findings and Discussion
The 'demanding nature' of physical science means that this subject is considered inappropriate for girls but better suited for boys. Ms D: Yes, our girls don't seem to do as well in physics as in other subjects. The girls are not particularly interested in the subject either, as they seem to find it difficult and thus choose subject packages in 9th grade that exclude Physical Science.
Girls are blamed because it is seen that they are not interested in the subject, they find it difficult and they do not choose subject packages that include Physical Sciences. For example, the demanding nature of the Physical Sciences emphasizes rational, logical and factual understanding, which is often seen as the domain of boys (Paechter, 1998). Another important finding from the interviews was the recognition by the counselors that the girls themselves are resisting physical science.
The counsellors thus draw attention to the need to focus on girls and why they make choices that exclude high status subjects like Physical Science.
Ability in High Status Subjects
When they are successful, their success is seen as in the event of difficulty rather than as a result of the natural aptitude observed in boys (Paechter, 2001b: 38). Thus, girls studying medicine or related fields are seen to succeed in the context of difficulty. Ms B: No, at this school there is no evidence that girls find some subjects more difficult than boys, in fact the girls do very well in all subjects.
Perhaps one of the factors is their home life, as many of our students come from homes where both mother and father are professionally qualified. No, it is very clear that girls in this school even choose engineering as a career path when they leave school. The view taken by Mrs B breaks the dominant idea that girls are biologically predisposed to fail in science and high-status subjects.
In addition, the role of parents in supporting an environment in which science is done is emphasized.
Parents are conservative
Educators and parents often have misconceptions and perceptions about girls' abilities to manage science as a subject and/or career. The counselors expressed many views on promoting girls into high-status subjects, focusing on counselling, the nature of science education, as well as peers and parents. The science teachers are also overloaded with work and are just getting by; some are not qualified to teach up to grade 12.
Another apparent problem is that the encouragement of girls in science comes from the competence of the science/technology teacher. The school also struggles to find truly competent science teachers and because results are so poor provincially, we are reluctant to encourage students who may not succeed. So when I came back after my visit, I consulted with the chairman of SGB and we decided to encourage girls to study science and we even hired male teachers to teach science.
Ms A was able to negotiate the sexist structures in Physical Science and with the support of the school governing body (SGB) changes were made.
Conclusions
Furthermore, the use of male science teachers in a girls' school can be seen as an achievement in breaking the view that only female teachers should teach in all girls' secondary schools. The topics themselves are not gender biased, but the perceptions of teachers/tutors need to be challenged. Counselors do recognize the gendered nature of the curriculum that marginalizes girls, but the majority accept this fate.
Parents, peer influences and young girls' decisions also play a key role in the choice of subjects. Adolescent girls were outside the scope of this study, but counselor responses revealed that girls do not want to choose science as it is considered more challenging. The school should play a key role in educating its students (both boys and girls) equally and fairly.
The biggest challenge now arises: how can we change perceptions about young girls and their future in the world where they have to fend for themselves?
Recommendations
Gender Equality Task Team (GETT) (1997) Gender Equality in Education: A Report from the Gende\. Eds) (2002) Handbook of Interview Research: context and methodology London: Sage. 1999) Understanding the Boys: Issues of Behavior and Performance. 2004) Finding your way in qualitative research. 1998) Answers: Girls, Boys and Feminism in Schools.