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This review has been accessed times since October 22, 2008

Watt, Helen M. G. and Eccles, Jacquelynne S. (Eds.). (2008). Gender and Occupational Outcomes, Longitudinal Assessments of Individual, Social, and Cultural Influences. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Pp. xxii + 384         ISBN 978-1-4338-0310-9

Reviewed by M. Gail Derrick
Regent University

October 22, 2008

Watt and Eccles (2008) have edited a book that reflects wide-ranging research into the role of gender and the implications for higher educational opportunities, work equity, economic security, coupled with professional value and respect.  Educational systems have long considered how the pipeline for science, mathematics, and technology careers has excluded females from a cultural isolation and equal access perspective.  Access to this pipeline begins with cultural expectations and efficacy with regard to education and the role of women.  A second important aspect is access to educational opportunities that ultimately provide entry to those challenging and rigorous post high school mathematics, science, and technology programs.  Watt and Eccles explore this research from multiple points of view and what is evident is that much work still needs to occur at local and K-12 levels, and cross state, national, and international boundaries.

While the book is a compilation of mainly quantitative research, those in education policy along with educational practitioners will gain insight into the complexities of the issue that surround gender and education.  The research reviewed in the book is written for understanding and clarity along with ease of understanding.  The data is presented in a clear and concise manner. The authors begin with research in access and continue to international concerns.  One only has to examine the latest research reports that provide graduation rates across gender in graduate and post graduate programs in the mathematics, science, and technology fields to understand the depth of the problem. 

While schools and educational divisions in the United States and other progressive nations work towards gender equity as a matter of fairness, what is really at stake is economic security which has far more reaching implications particularly for underdeveloped countries  both economically, politically, and educationally.  The national and international reports of educational progress continue to indicate the lack of achievement in science, mathematics, and technology content areas despite years of curriculum reform, teacher preparation, and legislative mandates.  In the United States and other forward thinking nations, there is still an emphasis on addressing these issues. As Watt and Eccles point out, courses such as Algebra I are considered gateway courses for access to other more rigorous mathematics courses.  Many states and localities have worked diligently to provide access to Algebra I as a matter of course in the eighth grade thus, affording students the chance to participate in several years of advanced science and mathematics coursework.  Students who do not take Algebra I by eighth grade are often limited in their participation not by ability but by scheduling and school options.  An additional concern particularly for U.S. policymakers and researchers is the lack of progress in student achievement in advanced mathematics coursework.  A report released in August 2008 by Achieve (http://www.achieve.org/files/ADPAlgebraIIEnd-Of-CourseExam2008AnnualReport.pdf) found that nearly 90,000 students across 12 states, who took the first national Algebra II end-of-course exam, on average, answered just one-third to one-fifth of the problems correctly.  In order to prepare students for a 21st century future and careers that may not even exist currently, educational researchers and policy makers must continue to address the quality of teacher preparation for teaching advanced coursework and student preparation beginning in pre-kindergarten.  And, educators and those in policy must continue to make diversity, ethnicity, culture, and gender a top priority as they work towards access and opportunity in those career fields that remain challenging for participation. Students have to get into the pipeline first; and, then education reform needs to address the strategies and programs to support and retain those who aspire to careers in the math, science and technology fields.

Gender inequities continue to persist into the 21^st century despite national and international reform efforts and continued research into the variables related to career choice and occupational outcomes.  Watt and Eccles have compiled longitudinal research studies and analysis by international experts that explore gender in multiple contexts and from varied viewpoints. Diverse factors and variables are examined in perspectives that bridge cultural, political, social, and economic domains.  The depth and diversity of research in Eccles and Watt’s edited book, Gender and Occupational Outcomes, Longitudinal Assessments of Individual, Social, and Cultural Influences (2008) provide those interested in gender related research an opportunity to explore the research and data of  specific gender variables with career outcomes.

Watt’s introduction examines the lack of women in historically male dominated professions of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as a continued challenge for educators.  Part I of the book explores mathematics as the gateway, or gatekeeper, for participation in those careers and professions that determine perceptions of choice, opportunity, and earning potential through restriction and participation in advanced coursework. Chapter 1 examines career aspiration s of Canadian youth over a 6 year period beginning in grade 9 through 3 years of post secondary education.  The findings link of career aspirations with mathematic achievement and of particular interest was the relationship to gender.  Chapter 2 examines the effect of higher level mathematics coursework upon career and college major choices. The impact of such advanced coursework for males who take Algebra II and for females who take Calculus appears to filter subsequent career choices.

Part II of the book examines psychological processes and motivation with gendered career choices.  Chapter 3 reviews stereotypical career choices considered masculine or feminine with males selecting and persisting in math related educational and career choices while females selected and persisted in English related educational and career choices.  Chapter 4 examines math and English participation for senior high enrollments in the United States and Germany, and how contextual factors such as self-concept affect choice.  Chapter 5 provides a complex growth curve model to examine the development of gendered self-concept in math, English and science during high school.  Chapter 6 reviews a study that utilized a sociomotivational framework to examine persistence in science and technology studies.

Part III discusses the importance of family influences on gender related careers. Chapter 7 reviews a longitudinal study on the reasons females abandoned career aspirations in male dominated fields that they had aspired to in adolescence. Chapter 8 focuses on the effect that parents have on the selection of gendered occupations of their children. This chapter points to the communication of parental expectations and career choices as an important factor.  Chapter 9 is concerned with the biological dispositions that point towards gendered outcomes.  Also discussed is the influence of specific sex hormones upon gendered behaviors.

Part IV of the book examines social, institutional and cultural influences and limitations upon the career development of women.  Chapter 10 examines the role of women in Turkey as a form of modern progressive thought for a developing country.  Chapter 11 reviews how women faculty in science and engineering fields progress through the higher education institutions to achieve tenure and rank.  Chapter 12 addresses the underutilization of women in STEM fields and how technology rich environments may or may not be enhancing female careers and choices.

Watt and Eccles’s book Gender and Occupational Outcomes, Longitudinal Assessments of Individual, Social, and Cultural Influences (2008) is an excellent resource and reference work for those interested in gendered occupations and career choices.  The studies provide a rich analysis of the many facets of gender issues associated with female choices in selected STEM careers. Each chapter has a literature section that provides a framework for understanding previous research and data along with a historical overview of the major points and ideas.  The varied methodology and statistical analysis provides those interested in quantitative research a variety of statistical methods including more advanced tools for understanding what can be inferred from the data for new lines of research.  This text is an exceptional  compilation of literature and research for those interested in gender and occupational outcomes and addresses factors from coursework, to achievement, to motivation, to the role of family and finally, as a movement for social and economic  equity and security. 

About the Reviewer

M. Gail Derrick, EdD
Professor
School of Education
Regent University
Virginia Beach, VA 23464

Copyright is retained by the first or sole author, who grants right of first publication to the Education Review.

Editors: Gene V Glass, Kate Corby, Gustavo Fischman

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