Peer influence in educational choices: Social image concerns and same-gender interactions

Adolescents' educational choices are shaped by their peers. Using administrative data covering the entire population of Italian middle school students, we show that exposure to high-achieving male peers in math reduces the likelihood that girls choose a scientific high school track. To understand the mechanisms behind this effect, we design a lab-in-the-field experiment. We focus on two key channels: (i) social image concerns, whereby students make gender-stereotypical choices, such as girls opting for literature and boys for math, and (ii) preference for same-gender interactions, where the expected gender composition of peers affects school track choices. Our findings reveal that, although girls' choices are not influenced by the prospect of revealing their decisions to peers, they are less likely to choose gender counter-stereotypical fields, particularly math, when they expect to be surrounded by more male classmates. In contrast, boys' choices remain unaffected by both social image concerns and the anticipated gender composition of their peers. These results offer valuable insights into the dynamics of peer influence, contributing to the understanding of the persistent gender disparity in STEM education tracks.