Abstract
This critical case study explores how gifted students at a Kazakhstani STEM-specialised school navigate the discursive construction of their STEM engagement. Focus group discussions with Grade 12 students were analysed through a post-structuralist lens. Analysis reveals that even within elite STEM environments, engagement remains a reiterative performance of socially sanctioned identities. Girls justify STEM major choices through perceived ease, whereas boys employ pragmatic career narratives. Student engagement in STEM was dynamic, with students shifting between states of engagement and disengagement based on their interests, learning preferences, content relevance and teacher pedagogy. Notably, teacher practices inadvertently reinforce binary norms through differentiated expectations, naturalising gendered participation patterns which remain invisible to students. Challenging biological determinism, this study underscores how institutional structures and cultural discourses co-produce gendered STEM engagement. To disrupt these patterns, systemic interventions, such as teacher training and gender-inclusive curricula and career guidance, are imperative.