Abstract
Abstract
Despite ongoing efforts to promote gender equity in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, female students remain underrepresented and less engaged in STEM disciplines and careers. Drawing on Social Cognitive Theory, this study examined the influence of female STEM lecturers as role models on female students’ STEM engagement and career aspirations, with STEM self-efficacy serving as a mediating variable. In this study, STEM engagement and career aspirations are conceptualized as a combined construct (SECA) to capture both immediate academic involvement and longer-term career intentions within STEM. A quantitative research approach employing a descriptive survey design was used. Data were collected from 200 female STEM students enrolled in selected higher education institutions in Mogadishu, Somalia. Female STEM lecturers’ role modeling was conceptualized across three dimensions: exposure to female STEM lecturers, role-model qualities, and interaction frequency and quality. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS. The results indicated that all three role-modeling dimensions had significant positive effects on STEM self-efficacy, with interaction frequency and quality demonstrating the strongest influence. STEM self-efficacy, in turn, had a significant positive effect on female students’ STEM engagement and career aspirations and partially mediated the relationship between lecturers’ role modeling and student outcomes (R
2
= 0.151), indicating a meaningful but limited explanatory effect. The study contributes to the literature by disaggregating role modeling into distinct dimensions and empirically demonstrating a significant but partial role of STEM self-efficacy as a psychological mechanism linking role modeling to engagement and career aspirations. The findings offer practical implications for higher education institutions seeking to enhance female participation and retention in STEM through inclusive teaching practices and supportive academic environments. This study addresses a critical gap by providing empirical evidence from a non-Western higher education context and by disaggregating role modeling into distinct dimensions, offering a more nuanced understanding of how female lecturers influence student outcomes in STEM.