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Parental and Secondary School Teachers’ Perceptions of ICT Professionals, Gender Differences and their Role in the Choice of Studies

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Abstract

The influence of parents and teachers in the decisions made by adolescents regarding study options has not been widely documented in Spain. The main aim of this qualitative study consisted of analyzing the opinions of parents and secondary school teachers about their role in the different academic and professional choices boys and girls make. Seven focus groups (4 with 27 parents and 3 with 22 secondary school teachers) from 5 schools located in urban and rural areas of Catalonia (Spain) were carried out in order to explore how both groups perceive Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals, gender differences in study options and their own role in adolescents’ choice of study options. Our findings show that parents and teachers hold stereotypes about ICTs and consider that gender does not condition adolescents’ study choices. Both groups saw themselves as playing a secondary role in adolescents’ academic and professional choices. Some gender differences among parents and teachers emerged regarding their perception of the ICT professionals and their own role and of others in shaping adolescents’ study choices. The findings and their practical implications are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This paper is part of a broader research project financed by the Catalonian Women’s Institute ASC/46/2008. The corresponding author thanks the financial support given by the Programa José Castillejo Programme on Mobility of the Spanish Ministry of Education. The authors would like to thank the participants and Esther Fatsini, Ana González-Ramos, Pilar Prat, Jordi Solé and Nuria Vergés for their collaboration in the process of contacting participants and the analysis of some focus groups. Special thanks to the blind reviewer and editors for their insightful comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Internet Interdisciplinary Institute, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 117 Roc de Boronat, 08018, Barcelona, Spain

    Milagros Sáinz

  2. CIREM FUNDACIÓ, Trav. de les Corts, 39-43 lateral 2a, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    Rachel Pálmen

  3. Facultad de Sociología, Universidad de la Laguna, Tenerife, Spain

    Sara García-Cuesta

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  1. Milagros Sáinz
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  2. Rachel Pálmen
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  3. Sara García-Cuesta
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Correspondence to Milagros Sáinz.

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Sáinz, M., Pálmen, R. & García-Cuesta, S. Parental and Secondary School Teachers’ Perceptions of ICT Professionals, Gender Differences and their Role in the Choice of Studies. Sex Roles 66, 235–249 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-011-0055-9

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