Gender and doubts about a study in technology : a Dutch-Hungarian comparison

A cross-cultural investigation of the doubts of male and female students intechnology about their academic programs was conducted. Data were gathered from 477students of two universities, one in Hungary and the other in the Netherlands. Anexploratory model was developed, based on concepts from Eccles's (1987) model of educational choice and Tinto's (1975) model of educational dropout. The expectation thatfemale students and Hungarian students have more doubts, because of differences in reasons for doubt, was confirmed. Incongruency of study program and personal interestsappeared to be a more important reason for doubt for Hungarian students than for Dutchstudents. Female students mentioned difficulty-of study as a more important reason fordoubt than male students did.