A Stony Path
Underprivileged students might completely rule out going to university as early as middle school, when it's hard to reply to questions such as: "What do you want to do when you grow up?"
Students who are the first in their family to go to university receive less information, and receive it later, about the high schools that facilitate getting to the most prestigious universities. Without getting this clear guidance, many young people count themselves out.
Paradoxically, there are times when school is where the rug is pulled out from under them.
Research by Michela Carlana (Bocconi) highlights how advice and guidance given to middle schools isn't always neutral. On the contrary, it is often influenced by unconscious bias at home as well as in school.
Taking the example of science subjects, if a girl has a teacher conditioned by the old stereotype that "math is for boys," there is a danger she will be directed toward non-STEM subjects no matter her true potential.
-33%
Having a teacher who is free from these types of gender stereotypes reduces by a third the chances that a female student will be directed away from an educational path more aligned to her true potential.
"Implicit stereotypes create a self-fulfilling prophecy and perpetuate gender differences."
Carlana, M. (2019) Implicit stereotypes: Evidence from teachers’ gender bias. The Quarterly Journal of Economics
ERICA AND LUDOVICA SANFILIPPO
Bocconi, Class of 2022 and 2024
It's a Gift to "Learn"
Their grandma often repeated this advice as they were growing up, pushing them toward an opportunity that had passed her by. Along with a scholarship, her encouragement helped the two sisters to stride through the doors at Bocconi and become the first university graduates in their family. The echo of "Learn" must have reverberated through the walls of their home, bouncing back and forth between different generations. In fact, after Erica and Ludovica, their mother reopened her books and graduated with a degree in law. Then it was up to their cousins to choose the same path. After all, who better than grandma could have pushed a whole family to graduate from university?