Education is one of the most important factors in the development of individuals and society. There are people who are not able to get basic or higher education. Many social constraints prevent people from getting an education. Gender stereotypes are one of the social constraints that make education a dream for many people. Gender stereotypes overgeneralize people's characteristics and behaviour based on gender. Stereotypes help people categorize things and simplify daily activities and the cognitive process. Society differentiates between male and female characteristics with clear boundaries. Therefore, people are expected to behave in a way that is appropriate for their gender. Sometimes, people are prevented from achieving their dreams due to gender bias in society because, according to the norms of society, some situations are not suitable for each gender. It is unjust when certain individuals are denied education due to gender bias. Gender stereotypes have an unconscious effect on the decision (of women and men) to study at a particular university.For example, gender stereotypes partly explain why women choose study sections in fields that lead to low-paying jobs. Researchers claim that increased student stereotypes in children directly lead to more positive or negative attitudes towards school. Positive views lead to higher academic achievement, while negative views lead to lower academic achievement (Igbo et al., 2015). Gender stereotypes shape students' perceptions, thinking, knowledge, choice of major, and academic achievement. In an educational setting, gender discrimination has a far-reaching influence. Advances in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, known as STEM, play a critical role in social progress and economic development. As a result, employment opportunities in these fields have grown rapidly and are expected to continue to grow over the next decade (Department of Economics and Statistics, 2017). Indeed, children's STEM trajectory begins in elementary school when they begin placing into math courses based on their performance (Fong & Finkelstein, 2014). In previous literature, we have pointed out the relationship between gender stereotypes and educational aspects of university students, particularly the impact of gender stereotypes on academic performance and success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. We are aware that such gender stereotypes may fester beneath the surface, at the unconscious level, in the form of implicit stereotypes. Research shows that these stereotypes often shape children's academic beliefs and interests. For example, studies have shown that boys as young as six years old are more likely than girls to believe that their gender is great (Bian, Leslie, & Cimpian, 2017).This pilot study aims to determine the impact of gender stereotypes and identify the most important factors that influence students' academic choices. The current study adopted a quantitative approach using a survey to measure the current research objectives. Quantitative studies involve gathering facts so that records can be quantified and are limited to statistical processing to preserve or refute the opportunity principle that asserts quantitative facts. Similarly, (Creswell 2003; Williams, 2011) says that quantitative studies use questionnaire techniques, including experiments and surveys, to collect facts about predetermined equipment that lead to statistical facts. As mentioned by Sukamolson (2007), survey studies involve using sampling techniques with a designed questionnaire to collect characteristics of a specific

Research hypotheses

1- There is a significant difference between male and female personality traits in the choice of academic specialization

2- Demographic factors significantly impact students' choice of major.

3- Demographic factors have a significant effect on personality traits.

4- Sociodemographic background has a significant impact on students' stereotypical characteristics

5- A strong relationship between academic specialization factors and gender stereotypes can be detected. (correlation)

6- Gender stereotypes have a significant impact on student's academic choices. (Logistic regression).

research methods The current study adopted a quantitative approach using a survey to measure the current research objectives. Quantitative studies involve gathering facts so that records can be quantified and are limited to statistical processing to preserve or refute the opportunity principle that asserts quantitative facts. Similarly, (Creswell 2003; Williams, 2011). The quantitative research instrument is a questionnaire based on the questions from questionnaires measuring factors that lead to academic choices. The Bem Inventory Scale was specifically designed to measure the extent of masculinity and femininity and moderation in personal characteristics and includes 60 characteristics found in male and female students. The first group of questions in the questionnaire was related to sociodemographic background The second block of questions is related to factors influencing academic specialization The third block of questions was related to satisfaction with university and major The fourth question block contained the Bem Sex Role Inventory items, including 60 personality characteristics. The fifth block of questions included items about the perception of gender stereotyping determining students’ academic choice. The current research sample consisted of (99) students (41 females, 58 males) from different universities in Hungary, Iraq and Cyprus in various specializations available in the universities; their ages ranged between (19-49) years and from academic levels, including bachelor's, masters and doctorate. The largest percentage of participating students came from Iraq, where participating students reached 31%. In second place were students from Hungary with 23%, then students from Iran and Nigeria with 5%, students from Mongolia with 4%, students from Egypt with 3%, 2% from Jordan and one student from the other countries as shown in Figure1. Respondents’ country (N=100, %) From the table below the students' university, 62% is from the University of Debrecen, 23% from the University of Salahuddin and 8% from the Cyprus International University. The rest of the participants, 7%, are distributed among other universities, as shown in Table 2. Level of study of respondents, BSC/BA57%, MSC/MA 19%, Undivided 15%, OMA 8%, Ph.D.1%. Table2. The specialization of the respondents was, agriculture10%, arts 5%, arts & humanities 6%, biology 1%, economics 11%, education 1%, engineering 10% English language 2%, health 4%, IT 1%, law 3%, medicine 11%, natural sciences 8% education, teacher training 19%, psychology 3%, social sciences 3%, sports 2%. See table (2). The academic year of respondents 4% from 1st grade, 49% from the 2nd grade, 33% from the 3rd grade, 4th 12%, 6th 2%.

This research depended on the analysis of the sample, which consisted (99) students from different universities: Results showed that grades earned by parents were intermediate between high school and university for most fathers. The factors affecting academic specialisation: influencing factors and participation in continuing education After factor analysis of the factors, we obtained four factors coded according to their importance: 1- Institutional factors 2- Faculty members, advisors and presence on campus 3- Family background factors 4- Personal factors (friends) others. The factors that contributed to the choice of university (proximity to home, location, etc.) were: 1- Academic quality 2- Scholarships and costs 3- Proximity and recreational atmosphere 4- Academic reputation 5- Preparation and tradition. The third block asked about satisfaction with choice of major by gender. There was no statistically significant difference between males and females in satisfaction with the field of study. The results of comparing the mean scores for female and male personality traits and the gender of the respondent show that there is a difference between males and females when it comes to choosing personality traits according to the gender of the respondent: males are less likely to choose female traits, while females are more likely to choose male traits. The results show that men chose science and engineering, while women tended to choose education and pedagogy. There was a significant relationship between the level of stereotyping of students and the level of stereotyping by parents. To meet the students, all girls are good at humanities and languages, and all boys are good at science and technology. . A small difference between males and females is not significant in the choice of different fields of study (engineering, IT for boys, education for girls). In general, students believe that there are differences between fields of study based on gender.,

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