1,720,969 research outputs found
Hints of latent drivers investigating university student performance
Full text linkJob market, nowadays, asks for higher and higher skills and competences. Therefore, also the measurement and assessment of the university students performance are crucial issues for policy makers. Although the scientific literature provides several papers investigating the main determinants of university student performance, often results are very different, and they seem to hold just in very specific contexts. This paper aims to contribute to the international literature, focusing on the role of student specific characteristics, supporting the idea that unobservable variables (such as motivation, aptitudes or abilities) should be more investigated
Chain migration and student mobility in Sicily
No full textThis study explores the phenomenon of chain migration among university students from Sicily to central and northern Italy. Over recent decades, such trends in mobility have been growing. Utilising data from the Italian Ministry of University and Research and focusing on first-year students from the 2014 and 2017 cohorts, this work investigates possible chain migration effects on mobility patterns, together with some other determinants. The study employs a gravity model to analyse the data, considering factors such as quality of life, university services, and the presence of social networks at the destination. Results suggest that student mobility is not only driven by economic and educational opportunities but also influenced by existing social ties, supporting the presence of chain migration. Specifically, the data reveal that students are more likely to enrol in universities where they have pre-existing connections, which facilitates their transition and integration
From Bachelor to Master Degree: The Choices of STEM Graduates
Full text linkThe gender gap in STEM disciplines in Italy is a persistent issue and, despite the growing interest in these subjects over the last decade, the underrepresentation of women continues to persist. The Global Gender Gap Report (2023) highlighted that Italy’s overall position has moved from 63rd place in 2022 to 79th place out of 146 countries in 2023. It seems this is mainly due to the participation of women in politics. However, a slight improvement was recorded regarding economic participation and opportunities.
According to ISTAT (2018), only 20% of graduates in STEM in Italy are women. This is significantly lower than the European average (around 40%, Eurostat, 2017). Several studies have sought to investigate the causes of this gap.
Some have highlighted the importance of socio-cultural factors, such as gender stereotypes and social expectations (Nosek et al., 2009). Others have emphasised the importance of education and school orientation (OECD, 2015). However, most of these studies are based on aggregate data at the national or regional level, which can mask important differences at the local level (Blickenstaff, 2005). Moreover, few studies have examined the gender gap in STEM in Italy using advanced statistical methods (ISTAT, 2018).
In our study we refer to the data processed in accordance with the Research Protocol for the Study “From high school to the job placement: analysis of university careers and University mobility from Southern to Northern Italy” among the Ministry of University and Research, the Ministry of Education and Merit, the University of Palermo as the lead institution, and the INVALSI Institute. The reference researcher is Massimo Attanasio. Data concerns the whole individual information about any student enrolled at a public university in Italy, since 2008. In addition, just only for the students enrolled at the University of Palermo, data are linked to the results of the AlmaLaurea annual survey on graduates’ university experience and job placement.
Thanks to this huge database, we focused on the choices of bachelor’s degree graduates regarding continuing their studies or going to work. Particular attention has been paid to STEM first and second-degree programs and gender differences. The use of multivariate techniques allowed us to discern the student characteristics most associated with the pathway choices made
From Bachelor to Master Degree: a first sight of STEM graduates' choices
No full textIn Italy, as in much of the world, the presence of women in STEM
disciplines and jobs is chronically lower than that of men. Many countries
are taking action to encourage women to pursue studies and careers in
those fields, adopting ad hoc policies. The study focuses on the decisionpathway of a STEM bachelor's degree in Italy. The data concern individual
data of two cohorts of matriculates (2016 and 2018), relating to pre- and
post-pandemic graduates, in order to take into account, as a possible
determining factor, the social context of reference. The primary questions
addressed are whether graduates opt to pursue further studies and, if so,
whether they choose to follow the STEM pathway and remain at the same
institution. In addition, we also focus on the possible association between
the choices made and the gender of the student. Preliminary results
suggested by a Multiple Correspondence Analysis approach seem to
indicate that there is no effect associated with the pandemic crisis but that
the choices seem to be partly dictated by gender, academic success,
geographical location, and the type of diploma held (more or less
consistent with a STEM educational path)
A distribution curves comparison approach to analyze the university moving students performance
No full textDa qualche anno anche l’Italia sta assistendo a un flusso migratorio di studenti, che da un povero Sud si dirige verso un più ricco Nord. Se un tempo la migrazione avveniva nel momento di cercare lavoro, adesso questa è anticipata da studenti che ritengono di avere meggiore successo se conseguono il titolo al Nord. L’obiettivo di questo studio è verificare la sensazione empirica secondo la quale in realtà gli studenti che restano per iscriversi alla Laurea Magistrale hanno un percorso simile rispetto a quelli che si iscrivono a un percorso magistrale del Nord. Considerate diverse misure di performance, e svolto i confronti attraverso una nuova procedura di raffronto tra curve di distribuzione, i risultati non mostrano sostanziali differenze, se non condizionatamente in alcuni casi.Nowadays in Italy we observe a one-directional migration flow of university students, typically from the South to the North. It represents the new millennium migration flow: people migrate looking for better job opportunities already during their educational path, believing that northern universities may provide more opportunities for being more successful. This paper aims to study the performance of those Sicilian students that move to the northern universities, to take the second level degree, in comparison with those remain in Sicily. We want to test the empirical evidence that shows a similar performance between the two groups of students. We use different measures of performance and follow a new methodology based on the comparison among the distribution curves. Results seems to confirm our idea, highlighting some difference
A mediation analysis approach for gender pay gap in STEM: The University of Palermo case
Full text linkItaly's strategic sustainability plan for 2024-2026 aims to reduce the wage disparity between men and women to a 1\% difference. Addressing the gender pay gap (GPG) is crucial to promoting equity, improving economic efficiency and ensuring sustainable and inclusive development. Italy's GPG is around 5\%, with an annual men vs women disparity of almost 8,000 between genders in the private sector in 2022. Additionally, a significant factor in the GPG is the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields, which offer higher wages. The hypothesis is that participation in STEM fields mediates the relationship between gender and wages. Using data from the University of Palermo graduates, the gender effect on wages is decomposed into indirect and direct effects through STEM participation. In addition, the propensity score approach is used to relate the study to an experimental one and a quantile regression model is adopted to investigate better the effect of the variables on the income distribution
A Review of Some Covid-19 Pandemic Numbers in European Union, Canada, and Mexico
No full textThe rapidity and extent of Covid-19 infections have shown how a phenomenon that initially seemed geographically circumscribed quickly spread worldwide. In 2020, the spread of infection and the containment and management measures taken by local governments have been quite heterogeneous. Therefore, here we investigate the different ways of the spread of the infection in different areas, and specifically in Canada, Mexico, and the European Union states. For this purpose, for each area, official data on infection in 2020 are used to depict, analyze, and compare the monthly contagion’s curves and the Rt index, both in absolute and relative terms
Gender Disparity in STEM Enrolment Across Italian Provinces
No full textThis paper examines the gender gap in STEM enrolment in
first-level courses at Italian universities, focusing on the role played by
students’ provinces of origin. STEM enrolment has been modelled as a
function of individual and territorial characteristics, considering two sets
of covariates: student-level and province-level factors. We employed a
multilevel logistic regression model, where students (Level 1) are nested
within provinces (Level 2). We introduced random intercepts capturing
the provincial variation in the propensity to enrol in STEM and taking into account the clustering of students within provinces. Additionally, we include random slopes for gender to allow the gender effect to
vary across provinces. Our findings indicate that provincial differences
in STEM enrolment and the gender gap are slight but remain significant
even after controlling for individual and territorial characteristics
Does The Gender Pay Gap Really Exist? A Case Study Of University of Palermo Graduates
Full text link“Reducing the wage disparity between women and men, at all levels of employment, down to a 1% difference” is one of the main goals of Italy’s Strategic Sustainability Plan for 2024-2026.
The wage disparity, also known as gender pay gap (GPG) encompasses more than just pay discrimination, reflecting broader issues like sectoral segregation, the unequal distribution of paid and unpaid work, the glass ceiling effect, and direct pay discrimination [1].
The GPG in the EU stands at 10.7% in 2022, with 69.3 % of women across the EU being employed compared to 80% of men [3].
The gender overall earnings gap, which considers hourly earnings, hours worked, and employment rates, is a more comprehensive measure of the pay gap and it was a staggering 36.7% in 2018 [4].
In Italy, the GPG is just around 5%, below both the OECD and European average [5].
However, a more in-depth analysis by the Observatory on Private Sector Employees of the INPS (Italian National Institute of Social Security) showed a stark annual disparity of almost €8,000 between genders in the private sector in 2022 [6].
Graduates’ wages further confirm gender disparity, with men earning about 12.9% more than women five years post-graduation [3]. A significant factor contributing to the GPG is the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields, which are among the most lucrative [2]. This underrepresentation is linked to various factors, including gender differences in math and spatial abilities, women’s undervaluation of their skills, and differences in career preferences [8].
In this paper, we want to single out the effect of gender on the wage considering the influence of the unbalance gender composition in the most remunerative STEM fields.
Our hypothesis is that participation in STEM fields can act as a mediator in the relationship between gender and wages. The rationale for considering STEM as a mediating variable is that men might earn more, on average, than women because they are more likely to work in STEM fields, which tend to pay higher wages. Thus, the GPG is not solely a direct effect of discrimination or other gender-based factors but is also mediated by the choice of or access to high-paying STEM careers.
To explore this, we use AlmaLaurea data on University of Palermo graduates as a case-study.
The role of STEM as a hypothesized mediator that could be affected by the “treatment”, the gender, and could subsequently affect the outcome, the salary, will be assessed decomposing the total effect of the treatment into two components: an ‘‘indirect effect’’ that channels the gender effect through the STEM mediator and a ‘‘direct effect’’ that works directly
Pull factors for university students’ mobility: a gravity model approach
No full textMigration phenomena are characterised by flows that are typically multilateral. Often an outgoing flow corresponds to one or more incoming flows, which
counterbalances it. When the balance is negative, socio-economic problems can arise. Italy has been afflicted for years by a particular type of unilateral migration:
student mobility. Thousands of students leave the South to study in the Centre-North, driven by the better socio-economic conditions of those areas, and by more
prosperous job prospects. Since this flow is not followed by a return one, nor by other incoming flows, the historical, socio-economic gap between North and South
is widened. Taking advantage of the big dataset concerning the cohorts of students enrolling in Italian universities, made available by the Ministry of Education, we
adopted the viewpoint of gravity models to investigate the social, economic and educational aspects of universities and destination areas that can make mobility attractive, studying them also over time
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