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Students’ study and career choices have far-reaching effects on their lives, the surrounding society and working life, and they shape our future in many ways. To better understand the factors related to GUS students’ study and career interests, this study examines the relationship between students’ self-efficacy beliefs, subject preferences, subject choices and gender on their study and STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) career interests. Study I used national register datasets, including students selected to Finnish universities (N = 46 281), and national matriculation examination results (N = 93 955) during 2013–15 and 2017 cohort data (N = 802) collected through surveys. Study II and III used another cohort’s data (N = 601) collected with surveys from Finnish GUS schools in Oulu during 2018. The register analysis showed GUS students’ advanced syllabus in mathematics relates to Finnish university admissions and based on cohort data, most students understood the value of mathematics for postgraduate studies and careers. Moreover, there were clear gender-based disparities in Finnish university study fields. Although self-efficacy beliefs and subject preferences were to some extent related to the further study interests, the key factor directing study field interest was the students’ gender. The results also suggest that if students received career information from various sources, or support for their mathematics studies, it had a positive effect on their interest in STEM careers. The findings highlight that students need multi-channel information about the changing possibilities of working life and the necessary skills. Awareness of the directing influence of gender should be raised in education and guidance. While Finnish GUS schools already incorporate collaboration with the workforce into their curriculum, there is a need to organize and tailor these practices systematically to enable young individuals to make more informed decisions a, Tiivistelmä Opiskelijoiden koulutus- ja uravalinnoilla on kauaskantoisia vaikutuksia yksilön elämään, ympäröivään yhteiskuntaan ja työelämään, ja ne muokkaavat tulevaisuuttamme monin tavoin. Lukiolaisten opiskelu- ja STEM- (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) urakiinnostuksen taustatekijöitä tunnetaan vähän ja tämä väitöstutkimus tarkastelee minäpystyvyyden, oppiainemieltymysten, ainevalintojen ja sukupuolen yhteyttä lukiolaisen opiskelu- ja STEM-urakiinnostuksen syntyyn. Osatutkimus I hyödynsi v. 2013–15 valtakunnallisia rekisteriaineistoja (Suomen yliopistoihin valitut opiskelijat, N = 46 281 ja valtakunnalliset ylioppilaskirjoitusten tulokset, N = 93 955), sekä lukioista v. 2017 kyselynä kerättyä kohorttiaineistoa (N = 802). Osatutkimuksissa II ja III käytettiin toista kohorttiaineistoja (N = 601), joka kerättiin kyselyllä Oulun lukioista v. 2018. Rekisteriaineistoon perustuvan osatutkimuksen mukaan ylioppilaskirjoitusten pitkän matematiikan ainevalinta on yhteydessä Suomen yliopistoihin sisäänpääsyyn, ja kohorttitutkimustulosten perusteella valtaosa nuorista oli tietoisia matematiikan opintojen merkityksestä suhteessa jatko-opinto- ja urapolkuihin. Tutkimustulokset myös osoittivat, että yliopistojen koulutusalat ovat voimakkaasti sukupuolen mukaan eriytyneet, ja vaikka oppiainemieltymykset sekä matemaattinen ja kielellinen minäpystyvyys vaikuttavat lukiolaisen koulutusalakiinnostukseen, keskeisin koulutusala- ja urakiinnostusta selittävä tekijä oli opiskelijan sukupuoli. Tulokset myös osoittivat, että mikäli opiskelijat saavat lukiossa työelämätietoa monikanavaisesti, sillä on myönteinen vaikutus opiskelijan kiinnostukseen STEM-uria kohtaan. Väitöskirja tukee näkemystä, jonka mukaan nuoret tarvitsevat monikanavaista tietoa työelämän muuttuvista mahdollisuuksista ja tarvittavasta osaamisesta. Tietoisuutta sukupuolen ohjaavasta vaikutuksesta tulee nostaa vahvemmin esiin koulutuksessa ja ohjauksessa ja lukioiden työelämäyhteistyön käytänteitä tulee syste

Fluent transitions to higher education are a common concern, especially in highly selective Finnish teacher education (TE). This study examined the fit between the matriculation examination (ME) results and the selection criteria applied in TE. We studied the accepted applicants in Finland in 2013–2015 (n = 5116), and both the accepted and rejected applicants at the University of Oulu in 2015 (n = 2170). Among the accepted applicants, the ME typically consisted of mother tongue, advanced syllabus English, basic syllabus mathematics, psychology, and health education. The various selection criteria did not directly differentiate the applicants with respect to the ME. The two strongest predictors in the ME for acceptance to TE were the choice of and performance in advanced syllabus mathematics and psychology. The results are discussed in light of selection criteria and TE.

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