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Cilj rada bio je kvalitativnom metodom istražiti kako studenti/ce razumiju vlastiti proces odabira studija na visokoškolskoj razini. Teorijski okvir činila je teorija situiranih očekivanja i vrijednosti Eccles i sur. Istraživačka su pitanja bila: što studenti/ce prepoznaju kao glavne razloge za vlastitu odluku o odabiru studija, kako percipiraju ulogu važnih drugih osoba u odluci o odabiru studija te kako razumiju odnos rodnih stereotipa o studijima i zanimanjima te vlastitog odabira studija. Polustrukturirani intervjui provedeni su sa 44-ero studenata i studentica prve godine sveučilišnih i stručnih studija (22 djevojke i 22 mladića). Tematska analiza intervjua pokazala je da su motivacijska uvjerenja, važne druge osobe te rodni stereotipi imali različite uloge u odabiru studija. Subjektivne vrijednosti, posebno interes, percipirana korisnost i cijena truda, prepoznate su kao važni motivacijski utjecaji. Roditelji, profesori/ce te posebno prijatelji/ce utjecali su na odabir studija svojim savjetima, pružanjem informacija i podrške. Analiza rodne dimenzije pokazala je da je prisutnije shvaćanje da rodni stereotipi nisu utjecali na vlastiti odabir studija. No kada se prepoznaje utjecaj rodnih stereotipa na odabir, on je u skladu s očekivanjima teorije: studenti/ce rodno tipičnih studija navode da su izbjegavali rodno nestereotipne profesionalne odabire, dok studentica rodno nestereotipnog studija (strojarstva) opisuje važnost odbacivanja stereotipa za svoj odabir studija. Praktične implikacije rezultata odnose se na dodatno informiranje učenika/ca o sveučilišnim i stručnim studijskim programima te njihovo osvještavanje o utjecaju rodnih stereotipa na obrazovne odabire radi širenja spektra mogućih odabira studija., The goal of the paper was to investigate, using the qualitative method, how students understand their own process of choosing a study course at the higher education level. This study was grounded in the Eccles et al.’s situated expectancy-value theory. The research questions were the following: 1) What do students recognize as the main reasons for their own course choice decision?, 2) How do they perceive the role of important others in their decision to choose a course?, and 3) How do they understand the relationship between gender stereotypes about studies and occupations, and their own course choice? A semi-structured interview was conducted with 44 first-year university students (22 young men and 22 young women). The thematic analysis of the interviews showed that motivational beliefs, important others and gender stereotypes played different roles in the choice of a study course. Subjective values, especially interest, perceived usefulness and cost of effort are recognized as important motivational influences. Parents, teachers, and especially friends influenced course choices with their advice, information and support. The analysis of gender dimension showed the prevalence of a perception that gender stereotypes did not influence one’s own study course choice. However, when the influence of gender stereotypes was recognized, it was in line with the expectations: students of gender-typical courses stated that they avoided gender non-stereotyped professional choices, while a female student of mechanical engineering described the importance of rejecting stereotypes for her decision to study a typically male course. Practical implications aiming at expanding the spectrum of possible course choices include providing additional information for pupils about study courses and raising their awareness about the influence of gender stereotypes on educational choices.

The goal of our study was to explore how academic motivation, gender stereotypes and gender roles as well as cultural resources shape students’ choices of courses in the technical sciences and social sciences and humanities. Data collection and interpretation have been informed by Eccles, Adler, Futterman, Goff, Kaczala, Meece, and Midgley’s (1983) expectancy-value theory, which we have expanded with Bourdieu’s (1986, 1973) concept of cultural capital. We have also found Bourdieu’s (1984) concept of habitus, or more specifically Reay’s (1998) elaboration of its gender dimension to be a theoretically productive way to capture how students naturalize the gender ‘appropriateness’ of school subjects, study areas and occupations. We administered a questionnaire to 1301 final year secondary school students from grammar schools (46.7%) and four-year vocational schools (53.3%) from across Croatia. There were 679 girls (52.2%) and 622 boys (47.8%) in the sample. The questionnaire measured the following concepts from Eccles et al.’s (1983) expectancy-value theory: school grades, expectation of success and subjective task values, gender roles, and gender stereotypes. The questionnaire also included measures of cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1986). In addition to our questionnaire we conducted interviews with students in their final year of secondary schooling in order to explore how they rationalize their university course choices. Our discussion is based on 16 semi-structured interviews conducted with 8 male and 8 female students. Both female and male students in our sample endorse gender stereotypes relating to course choices and occupations. Endorsing such stereotypes about a lesser talent of one's own gender for a particular study area was found to predict weaker intentions to choose a course in that study area. Conversely, convictions about one’s own gender being more talented for a particular study area predicted stronger intentions to want to study a course in that field. Our interview data showed that this does not result from a rational decision making process. Indeed, students disassociate their own gender stereotyping of courses from their gender stereotypical course choices. We also found that parental cultural practices contributed to boys’ choices of courses in the social sciences and humanities.