Abstract
Data from a four-year longitudinal study of undergraduates were used to determine whether males and females give different explanations for their decisions to seek bachelor's degrees and whether these differences could be explained by three mediating variables: performance levels, expectations, and attainment values. Females were found to give more importance to internal reasons than males did, but males gave higher ratings to items measuring academic drift, including luck. Females had higher academic performance levels than males, but no gender differences were found for expectations and attainment values, and performance levels did not explain gender differences in reasons for seeking the degree. An historic shift in gender ideology is proposed as an explanation for the findings.
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The research reported here was funded, in part, by grants from the Provost's Office and from the Research Council of the Graduate School, University of Missouri—Columbia. The author gratefully acknowledges the collaboration of Bruce J. Biddle and Ricky Slavings in the formulation of the study conducted in 1985–1986 and the help of Alice Christensen, Gary Freie, and Pat Shanks in contacting students four years later.
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Bank, B.J. Gendered accounts: Undergraduates explain why they seek their bachelor's degree. Sex Roles 32, 527–544 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01544187
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01544187