Analysis of the Female Student Profiles Who Consider Choosing STEM Careers

In this research, it was aimed to analyze the profiles of secondary school female students considering STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers at university by collecting information such as education status of the parents, number of siblings, monthly income of the household, their favorite courses at school and the departments they intend to choose at the university. The research addressed the following question: "What is the profile of secondary school female students who consider choosing STEM careers?" This study is structured according to instrumental case study design, one of the qualitative research designs. The research data were collected from 210 female students studying in Anatolian high schools by a form in which the students' information was requested. After collecting the forms applied to a wider workgroup, female students' data were separated and the departments they intend to choose at the university were analyzed. Originally, the form has been applied to a larger sample, following the collection of the data, the data of female students was analyzed separately to see the departments that they consider at the university. The departments stated by female students were coded as STEM careers and non-STEM careers. The results obtained from the evaluation of the data are given as frequency and percentage. Regarding female students who consider preferring STEM careers, it was found that the education level of their parents is high; the number of siblings and therefore the number of people in their household is low; the monthly household income is moderate or high; and the students who like the courses directly related to STEM fields are more interested in choosing STEM careers. It is seen that more than half of the female students who want to choose STEM careers want to pursue a career in medicine. [This study was presented as an oral paper at the International Conference on Science, Mathematics, Entrepreneurship and Technology Education.]