According to the Gender Equality Index(2023), European countries will increase the demand for individuals educated in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Despite progress in gender equality, women are still underrepresented in this field across Europe, including Croatia. The gender gap is particularly apparent in the area of information and communication technology education at university level, where there are almost four times more male than female graduates (Eurostat, 2023). In Croatia, 29 % female students and 71% male students study in Engineering field (Croatian Bureau of Statistics, 2023). Since the study fields differ in terms of prestige and economic rewards, this gender differentiation in higher education limits women's opportunities in the labour markets and contributes to the reproduction of gender inequalities. The increased demand for STEM-educated individuals led to the need of encouraging girls to pursue a career and education in this field. This is a problem which has been addressed by policy makers and explored by researchers. Studies point out that there are many factors relevant for explaining why girls and boys differ in their choices of secondary schools and university study fields. They range from studies that explore intersectional structural, cultural and gender effects on girls' and boys' secondary school choices and achievements, gendered support of families, and the institutional structure of secondary and higher education (Reimer and Polack, 2010; Barone, 2011; Reay, 1998). For our research it is important to mention psychological studies that point to motivational variables as significant factors that influence the gendered educational choices and students’ experiences. Of particular importance are studies based on Eccles at al.'s expectancy-value theory (1983; 2020), which emphasizes the effects of motivation situated in the social and cultural context of students, enabling thus a more comprehensive explanation of why girls less likely than boys choose STEM subjects and fields. Croatian studies also confirm gender divide by field of study at both secondary and higher education levels (Baranović, 2011; Jugović, 2015; Košutić et al., 2015). Recent studies focused on exploring the effects of the sociocultural and economic context complemented by Eccles at al.'s expectancy-value theory have highlighted the relevance of examining the role of motivation for the educational choices and achievements of girls in a gender atypical field of study, such as STEM education. (Jugović, 2015; Jugović and Baranović, 2023). Drawing on Eccles at al.'s situated expectancy-value theory (2020), this paper aims at exploring gender differences in study experiences and in motivation of students to study at the faculty in the STEM field. Besides students’ study motivation, we analysed the burnout of the students in relation to students’ gender. Burnout is becoming a prominent topic in the academic context, with serious consequences for students’ mental health and academic achievement (e.g. Madigan & Curran, 2021; Naderi et al., 2021). To understand student burnout symptoms, gender is a key factor, with female students feeling more exhausted than their male peers (Fiorilli et al., 2022). However, there is a scarce evidence on understanding the factors explaining gender differences in burnout experience, especially from motivational perspective. In the framework of job demands and resources theory (Bakker et al., 2023), intrinsic motivation is recognized as a protective factor against burnout (Sabagh et al., 2018). Taking together theoretical framework of situated expectancy value theory (Eccles & Wigfield, 2020) and job demands and resources theory (Bakker et al., 2023), we had two objectives in the study. The first objective was to examine gender differences in different aspects of student motivation for studying in the traditionally male study field. The second objective was to test whether intrinsic motivation for studying explains gender differences in experiencing exhaustion.

The data was collected using quantitative research methodology, which included the implementation of an online questionnaire filled out by students of one large faculty in the STEM field in Zagreb, Croatia. The research was conducted in December 2023., and the students accessed the questionnaire via email link they received from the faculty staff. A total of 554 students, from all study years, answered the online questionnaire, with gender distribution being 67% male and 32% female students, which is representative of the population regarding gender structure. The questionnaire contained questions about sociodemographic characteristics of the students, their experience of studying and living and working alongside their studies. We measured three motivational subjective task values variables: intrinsic value, utility value and expectancy value. Intrinsic value was measured with three questions related to intrinsic interest for choosing the study programme; utility value was measured with three questions related to external motivation for choosing the study filed, e.g. financial benefits, employment opportunities. Expectancy value was operationalised with one question measuring the expectancy of success in completing the studies. Exhaustion was measured with an eight-question exhaustion subscale from burnout assessment tool (BAT, Schaufeli et al., 2020). Reliability of all scales was adequate, ranging from 0,68 to 0,91. We tested gender differences in intrinsic value, utility value and expectancy value using ANOVA. T-test for dependant samples was used to test differences between before-mentioned types of motivation among subsamples of female and male students, respectively. Additionally, we tested simple mediation model with gender as a predictor, exhaustion as a criterion and intrinsic value as a mediator, using Process in SPSS IBM (Hayes, 2022).

Female students had higher utility value (F(2, 362)=4.64, p<0.01) and lower intrinsic value (F(2, 361)=5.00, p<0.01) than male students, but they did not differ in expectancy value (F(2, 364)=1.31, p>0.05). Levels of different types of motivation significantly differed among female students. Utility value was the dominant motivation type (M=4.4), following with intrinsic value (M=3.9), and the lowest levels of expectancy value (M=3.7). On the other hand, male students reported of equally high utility (M=4.19) and intrinsic value (M=4.24), but of significantly lower level of expectancy value (M=3.76). Mediation analysis revealed that the relationship between gender and exhaustion may be explained with intrinsic value (ind=0.05, 95%CI [.009 – 0.112]). Female students were less intrinsically motivated for studying in this field than male students (a=-0.21, p<0.01), which was related with higher levels of exhaustion (b=-0.26, p<0.01). Direct effect of gender on exhaustion was also significant (c=0.39, p<0.01), indicating that there are other factors explaining gender differences in exhaustion, along with intrinsic value. These results are in line with the previous research of gender differences in motivation in the STEM field and burnout. Also, as the results confirm that female students feel more exhausted than their male peers, it is important to encourage girls’ intrinsic motivation for the study as it can ameliorate the risk of experiencing burnout symptoms. In the light of these results, it is important to encourage girls’ intrinsic motivation for choosing education and career in STEM, in order to support their academic and career achievement, as well as their psychological wellbeing.

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