Contributing Factors for Female Students’ Attrition in Science Education: The Case of Faculty of Science at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
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Date
2010-07
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The need to be part of the globalized science-lead economy on the one hand and ensure
social justice on the other necessitated including half of the human race, women. This
requires giving special attention not only on the enrollment of female students in science
education but also on their retention. To the dismay of the Faculty of Science at Addis Ababa
University, despite deliberate and continuous efforts to enroll female students so far, the
number of female who graduate has been negligible for the last five years. Therefore, this
study examined different factors for female students’ attrition in the faculty. A mixed method
of approach was used to gather information on the factors of female students’ attrition by
employing quantitative and qualitative methods. This study reports on a result of a survey
from 89 randomly selected female readmitted students from six departments. It also reports
responses of 11 in-depth interviewees who were drop-outs and readmits and one group of
focus group discussion. The respondents returned the field questionnaire about their
backgrounds, attitude about science education, and factors that contributed for their
attrition. Most are found to have negative attitude towards their ability to study and succeed
in science fields especially in physics and mathematics. Low pre- university academic
preparation was a factor to most of them. Insufficient and irregular academic support
session in the faculty and absence of support and interaction between instructors/advisor and
students were cited as factors for their attrition by many. Factors related to unfair grading
system, or poor teaching quality in the faculty were cited as a factor by few. Most common
reasons for their attrition falls under the following classifications: Socio-psychological
factors, academic and support related factors and personal factors, including marriage and health issues. This finding agrees with the existing literature. The study has provided recommendations for the faculty improvement. These include providing sufficient and regular support, continuing evaluation of advisors/instructors, providing tutorial class for students with different or insufficient levels of knowledge
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Gender Studies