Socio-cultural factors and girls’ access to technical and vocational education, in some selected schools in bamenda mezam

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of socio-cultural factors on girls‟ access to technical industrial education at the secondary school level. The study was carried out in selected technical secondary schools in the northwest region of The Republic of Cameroon. When girls‟ access to technical industrial education is limited or hampered, it would mean that women participation in nation building will be lagging behind as far as technical know-how and application is concerned. Specifically, the study sets out to study the relationship between social stereotypes, parental attitudes and sociocultural practices and girls‟ access to technical industrial education.The theories that were used to support the findings of this study were the gender base schema theory, human capital theory, and career choice theory. The research methodology employed comprised of a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques in data collection. Triangulation was preferred in other to enlarge information possibilities. From the stratified random sampling we obtained a sample size of 308 girls from which we collected the data. The statistical tool used in the analysis of the data was the Pearson correlation. Correlation analyses were carried out at three different levels and the following results were obtained. RH1: Social stereotypes significantly correlate with girls‟ access to technical industrial education, r(306) =0.502; p< 0.001 RH2: Parental attitudes significantly correlate with girls‟ access to technical industrial education, r(306) =0.425; p< 0.001 RH3: Sociocultural practices significantly influence girls‟ access to technical industrial education, r(306) =0.240; p< 0.001 Based on the results of the finding stated above, we discussed the findings using the gender schema theory of Bem (1981), the human capital theory of Becker (2005) and career choice theory. We conclude that socio-cultural factors have a strong influence on female access to technical industrial education at the secondary level. Given these results we have made recommendations to stake holders include; government, teachers, parents, female students and the community regarding girls‟ access to technical education.