Participation And Performance of Female Students In Engineering Fields: The Case of Arba Minch University (Amu)
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Date
2005-06
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Addis Ababauniversity
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the participation (enrollment) and
performance (achievement) of female students in engineering fields of Arba Minch
University (AMU).
To achieve this objective, 125 engineering female students, 98 instructors, department
heads, faculty deans, president, vice presidents, and women representative of the
university were involved as research participants. The required data was secured using
different research instruments such as; document analysis, guided interviews, focus
group discussions and questionnaires. Accordingly; different methods of data. analyses
like: statistical approach, including percentage, for quantitative data and narrative
t approach for qualitative data were used.
Findings regarding female participation (enrollment) revealed encouraging trends.
The university under study is found to lack important teaching-learning facilities, like
library, reading room, clinic, textbooks and reference materials. Oespite these problems
female students do· better achievement pattern than their male counterparts.
Regarding drop out in the university education system, female students are high drop
out than their male counterparts. Environmental problem and health problem are
indicated as the major reason that lead females students to drop out the university.
Regarding gender based factors, results indicate that cultural stereotyped subject or
field perception and psychological barriers choose the field appear to be major factors
that hinder females to participate in the engineering fields. Accordingly, family
encouragement and good family educational background are also found to be the other
major reason why few female students are choosing this field. It was further identified
that, institutional effort to sensitize the campus climate and effort to support academic
problems were for to be totally poor.
To increase females participation in engineering fields in terms of intervention strategies
include: providing academic support service, like tutorials, textbooks, reference books,
and Drranging or providing guidance and counseling service (academic or personal),
promoting gender sensitalizaiton program in the form of seminar, conference, workshop,
to improve the attitude and perception towards engineering fields. In order to alleviate or
minimize the environmental and health problem within the university, provide
recreational facilities and campus health care sufficiently
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Keywords
Female Students In Engineering Fields