Comparison of men and women’s motivation of choosing physics teaching or nonteaching trajectory

To explore the self-efficacy and physics identity of students across various physics career trajectories, as well as to delve into the motivations of male and female students in choosing to major in physics and pursue teaching, we conducted a survey within the Department of Physics at East China Normal University. This institution offers undergraduate physics programs with both teaching and nonteaching trajectories. The teaching trajectory caters to preservice teachers who will receive certifications to teach physics at the middle or high school level upon completing their degree. A total of 266 undergraduate students participated in the survey, ensuring a balanced representation of both genders and both teaching and nonteaching trajectories. A gender disparity was evident for self-efficacy, while no such gap emerged for physics identity. Conversely, distinct disparities emerged between different career trajectories, with significant differences observed in physics identity between students in the teaching and nonteaching trajectories. A predominant motivation for majoring in physics was “interest,” and the top two reasons for choosing the teaching career were consistent for both genders, with women assigning higher priority to job security.

Figure 1

The students’ responses to the five self-efficacy statements are illustrated below. Percentages of students choosing each point on the Likert scale are depicted using distinct colors, ranging from 5 (strongly agree) to 1 (strongly disagree). The percentages of students selecting 4s and 5s have been combined and labeled on the right side of the graph, while percentages of those choosing 1s and 2s are combined and labeled on the left. Neutral responses (3) are labeled in the center of the graph.

Figure 2

The students’ responses to the five physics identity statements are shown below. Percentages of students selecting each point on the Likert scale are distinguished by different colors, ranging from 5 (strongly agree) to 1 (strongly disagree). The percentages of students choosing 4s and 5s have been combined and labeled on the right side of the graph while percentages of those opting for 1s and 2s are combined and labeled on the left. Neutral responses (3) are labeled in the center of the graph.