Background
Despite the increasing need for STEM skills, to date, the connection between STEM subject choices and their impact on students’ educational pathways has not been widely studied. Focusing on the mathematics choice (basic/advanced/no mathematics), a large register dataset that covered students admitted to Finnish universities during 2013–2015 ( N = 46,281) was combined with upper-secondary school matriculation examination data ( N = 93,955) to find out how this choice influenced the students’ university admissions. This large dataset was also examined to establish the current gender distributions in different university degree programs from the perspective of mathematics choices. Further, to find out the students’ reasons behind their mathematics choices, a cohort sample of 802 student responses was collected from upper-secondary schools. We also investigated the students’ interests in different fields of study to establish any gender differences in them.

Results
The register data analysis suggested that in Finland, students’ mathematics choices had a strong influence on the university admission outcomes. For instance, only 33% of the upper-secondary school graduates took the advanced mathematics ME test in 2013–2015, yet the number of those admitted to universities who had taken the advanced mathematics ME test was 55%. Most of the university degree programs were female dominated, yet the university students with advanced mathematics were mostly male, and especially the STEM fields in the Finnish universities were male dominated. As for the reasons behind the mathematics choices, students who chose advanced mathematics believed in its usefulness for their future studies and careers. We also found significant gender-based educational differences regarding all the study fields, with STEM careers attracting more males than females.

Conclusion
Advanced mathematics was highly valued in Finnish universities, and many students chose advanced mathematics believing in its usefulness for their future studies or careers. Yet, their further study interests and career plans were segregated by gender. As there is a rising need for STEM skills, we must seek effective ways to deliver the evolving possibilities of STEM fields to students, especially girls, during the earlier years of their educations.



中文翻译：

---

学生选择STEM的原因以及数学选择与大学录取的关系

背景技术
尽管对STEM技能的需求不断增长，但迄今为止，尚未广泛研究STEM学科选择及其对学生教育途径的影响之间的联系。侧重于数学选择（基础/高级/无数学），将涵盖2013-2015年间芬兰大学录取学生（ N = 46,281）的大型注册数据集 与高中入学考试数据（ N = 93,955），以了解这种选择如何影响学生的大学录取。还从数学选择的角度检查了这个庞大的数据集，以建立当前不同大学学位课程中的性别分布。此外，为了找出学生进行数学选择背后的原因，从高中阶段收集了802个学生反应的队列样本。我们还调查了学生在不同研究领域的兴趣，以建立他们之间的性别差异。

结果
登记数据分析表明，在芬兰，学生的数学选择对大学录取结果有很大的影响。例如，2013年至2015年，只有33％的高中毕业生参加了高级数学测验，但大学录取的学生接受了高级数学测验的人数为55％。大多数大学学位课程是女性为主的，而具有高等数学的大学生则以男性为主，尤其是芬兰大学的STEM领域以男性为主。至于数学选择背后的原因，选择高级数学的学生认为它对未来的学习和职业有用。我们还发现在所有研究领域中，基于性别的教育差异很大，

结论
芬兰高等数学在芬兰的大学中受到高度重视，许多学生选择高等数学是因为它对他们的未来学习或职业有用。然而，他们的深造兴趣和职业计划却按性别分开。随着对STEM技能的需求不断增长，我们必须寻求有效的方法，以在学生的早期教育中为学生（尤其是女孩）提供STEM领域不断发展的可能性。