Against the Odds: Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Women in Mathematical, Scientific, and Technological Careers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the personal stories of women who selected and continue to excel at careers in areas of mathematics, science, and technology to better understand the ways in which their self-ejficacy beliefs influenced their academic and career choices. Analysis of 15 narra- tives revealed that verbalpersuasions and vicarious experiences were critical sources of the women's self-ejficacy beliefs. These findings suggest that the perceived importance of these sources of self-efficacy beliefs may be stronger for women in male-oriented domains than for individuals operating in traditional settings. Academic and relational self-efficacy perceptions re- sulted in theperseverance and resiliency required to overcome academic and career obstacles. Findings support and refine the theoretical tenets of A. Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory, and they also suggest that criticaltenets in this theory are consistent with the work of C. Gilligan (1982) and N. Noddings (1992).