Women are underrepresented in physics. Because of the structure of the Japanese educational system, more women must choose physics as a subject for university entrance exams to increase the number of women studying advanced physics at university. In this study, we investigated the factors influencing girls’ choice of physics for university entrance examination in Japan, focusing on preference and self-efficacy for science subjects. We investigated two Japanese populations (members of the public who graduated from university with a degree in science, and professional physicists) to identify characteristics of physicists. We conducted online retrospective questionnaires. First, we found that the preference for physics at junior high school and the first year of high school were positively related to the choice of physics for university entrance exams in both female and male university science graduates. Second, we found that preferences for museums and science magazines as well as the recognition of the importance of physics and mathematics at elementary or junior high school were significantly related to the choice of physics for female university science graduates. Third, we found that professional physicists, especially women, had a lower mathematical stereotype than male and female university science graduates. Our results suggest that initiatives to prevent girls from disliking physics at junior high school or high school may be important for encouraging them to choose physics for university entrance examination in Japan.

中文翻译：

---

日本高考女生选择物理的相关因素

女性在物理学中的代表性不足。由于日本教育体系的结构，更多的女性必须选择物理作为大学入学考试的科目，以增加在大学学习高等物理的女性人数。在这项研究中，我们调查了影响日本女生选择高考物理的因素，重点关注科学科目的偏好和自我效能感。我们调查了两个日本人群（大学毕业并获得科学学位的公众成员和专业物理学家），以确定物理学家的特征。我们进行了在线回顾性问卷调查。第一的，我们发现初中和高中一年级对物理的偏好与男女大学理科毕业生对高考物理的选择呈正相关。其次，我们发现小学或初中对博物馆和科学杂志的偏好以及对物理和数学重要性的认识与女性大学理科毕业生选择物理显着相关。第三，我们发现职业物理学家，尤其是女性，比男性和女性大学理科毕业生对数学的刻板印象要低。