THE INFLUENCE OF THE EIGHTH GRADE SCIENCE TEACHER'S GENDER, CLASSROOM LABORATORY EMPHASIS, LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE AND CAREER INTEREST ON EIGHTH GRADE GIRLS' SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING CAREER INTERESTS

The two major objectives of this study were: (a) to determine whether eighth grade science teachers serve as sex-role models and therefore enhance eighth grade students' Science and Engineering (S/E) Career Interests, and (b) to determine if the S/E Career Interests of eighth grade girls are related to the sex and selected teacher effectiveness characteristics of eighth grade science teachers.;Student S/E career interests were measured using the Career Interest Survey (CIS) which was developed in this study. The CIS test-retest reliability over a one week period was .96 (N = 57). Concurrent validity coefficients were calculated in two ways: (a) CIS scores with the Kuder GIS science subscale (r = .75, N = 45) and (b) CIS scores with a CIS verification scale (r = .59, N = 127).;The CIS presurvey and postsurvey were administered to students during September, 1981 and April, 1982, respectively.;A 2 x 2 ANOVA using multiple linear regression analysis was done to test the first objective. It was determined that as a sex-role model, the science teachers did not account for a statistically significant amount of the variance of their student's S/E career interests.;The study involved 13 middle/junior high schools, 30 eighth grade science teachers (14 men; 16 women) and 1937 eighth grade students (945 boys; 992 girls) in Brevard and Indian River Counties, Florida.;A second analysis was done using multiple linear regression analysis. This analysis involved only the 992 girl students. The teacher variables used were teacher sex, and the following 3 measures of teacher effectiveness: (a) observed classroom laboratory emphasis, (b) understanding of science as measured by the TOUS, and (c) teacher career interest as measured by the Strong Campbell Interest Inventory. It was determined that none of the teacher variables involved in this analysis accounted for a statistically significant amount of the variance of girls' S/E career interests.;The two major conclusions reached in this study were that (a) eighth grade science teachers, as sex-role models, did not enhance the S/E career interests of their students, and (b) eighth grade girls' S/E career interests were not influenced by science teacher sex or teaching effectiveness.