FACTORS INFLUENCING LOW FEMALE STUDENTS IN ENGINEERING DEPARTMENTS, A CASE STUDY OF OLABISI ONABANJO UNIVERSITY

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND STUDY

Gender role stereotype is one of the variety of forces that influences career patterns. According to gender-stereotype studies, the beliefs that people hold about the differences between men and women can be summed up in two dimensions which define positive personal attributes. They are the communal and argentic dimensions (Cubillo, L. (2009).The communal dimension describes a concern for the wellbeing of others and is believed by some to be manifested more strongly in women than men. The argentic dimension depicts an assertive and controlling tendency and is believed by some to be manifested more strongly in men than women. This explains that girls are expected to take those careers which are directly related to nurturing while boys on the other hand are expected to take the more serious ones for example the science based careers (Coleman, 2005). Career choice, for many individuals in our society, is a sociological issue. Individuals tend to imitate what they see and find pleasing; at an early age we grasp objects that our parents, teachers, or other important individuals place within our reach; we find pleasure in playing the games that we see our family and friends playing (Flabbi2011).

Many young people choose careers by that for which they believe they or their parents can afford to finance training. Some choose careers based primarily on how much time they want to have for family and leisure activities, especially young women .For women who are currently in careers which relate to science or technology, the path to success is filled with many obstacles. Despite the affirmative action efforts for more than fifteen years, women are still grossly under-represented in the physical sciences, equivalent positions in academia (Miranda 2011). According to Keino (1985), differentiation in course choice based on gender is not biological, but is rooted in sex stereotyping the world over. Firstly female trainees may be presumed unprepared to cope with science and technical subjects or lack confidence in pursuing masculine courses. Secondly, the school structure and attitudes in co-education institutions may not be supportive of females taking high-tech subjects.Thirdly, lack of female teachers to act as role models in the fields of high-tech training such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, building construction, wood and metal technology, motor mechanics and plumbing, may discourage the few who have the interest and aptitude to venture into any of them. Fourthly, due to the fact that there are very few women in technical training institutes, those who wish to venture into the male-dominated courses may become discouraged when they find they are the only one or two female(s) in the course. This study focuses on the factors influencing low female students in engineering departments.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The perception that some careers are gender specific is one of the challenges of having few females studying engineering courses. Currently, the situation has not improved since there are those careers which are perceived to be for a particular gender for example secretarial job and nursing are considered to be for ladies whereas engineering and other technical jobs are done mainly by men. The society has not fully comprehend that what men can do women can also do and vice versa. Parents too have reinforced this as evident from the way they socialize their children. It is believed that engineering courses are meant for boys some parents have been reported that they tell their sons not to marry girls who have done technical courses.

Girls for example are given domestic roles that include fetching water and taking care of younger siblings hence they will not get ample time to study. Financial instability is also one of the factors responsible for low female students studying engineering courses. Technical courses are fairly expensive when compared with other courses hence girls from humble background are forced to choose other courses which are fairly cheap. In instances where the family does not have enough money, boys are preferred hence it is believed that boys will stay at home whereas girls will be married. Studies have shown that parental attitude, mentality and support have a great deal of influence on girls‟ participation and level of success attained in Technical education. These problems make it glaring that there is a need to carry out the investigation on the factors influencing low female students in engineering departments.