Teens dreams limited by gender, racial stereotypes - study

From Morning Report, 8:44 am on 19 March 2021

The dreams New Zealand teenagers have for the future are, according to new research, limited by gender and racial stereotypes. 

Researchers from the University of Canterbury interviewed hundreds of thirteen year olds about their attitudes toward PE and Maths and found that while most male students enjoy PE, boys who are Māori, Pasifika or Pākeha from poorer backgrounds are much more likely to assume they will go into physically-demanding careers, even when they excelled in maths.

Meanwhile, Pākeha boys from richer backgrounds are substantially more likely to aspire to careers in law or medicine. 

David Pomery from the University of Canterbury did the study.

He spoke to Corin Dann.