Gender roles in team decision-making strategies among secondary students during design tasks

The engineering design process (EDP) influences collaborative learning and decision-making in applying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, where individuals consider information to solve real-world design problems. Studies show that gender differences influence strategies of decision-making in small groups during design tasks. This qualitative study uses the reflective decision-making (RDM) model as the main framework to investigate how secondary school students make group decisions during the redesign phase, considering the role of gender. 18 of 25 secondary school students worked in small groups to build marshmallow towers. Data was collected mainly from audio recordings and supported by open-ended evaluation sheets. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. Findings indicated that all-boy groups emphasised leadership, and quick task completion, and had an optimistic mindset. In contrast, all-girl groups demonstrated collaborative, supportive, reflective and embodied communication, focusing on iterative process and task distribution. These findings suggest promoting inclusive, supportive and reflective teamwork to enhance decision-making in EDP among secondary school students.