Exploring How Nigerian Women Portray their Position in Technical and Vocational Education

Globally many countries accept the fact that the field of technical and vocational education is a key factor to develop the country’s economic growth, quality of life and job creation and women can play key role for its development. The government of Nigeria has been making efforts to increase the number of women in technical and vocational education in institution of higher learning to enable her creates employment opportunities for her citizenry. However, women are not embracing this opportunity by enrolling in technical and vocational education programs that will equip them with skills for self-reliant and contribute to national development. Opportunities for women in technical and vocational education field have remained relatively unexplored in Nigeria. A qualitative approach using phenomenological research method was adapted to gather data from fourteen women enrolled in technical and vocational education in Polytechnic institution. The aim was to get in-depth information about the phenomenon with the view of coming up with suggestions and recommendations that will improve the access and participation of women in this field. Phenomenological methodology was adopted and data collected were transcribed and analyzed to find themes and categories. Findings from this study revealed that participants enjoyed the program despite their experiences as were identified. Several conclusions were drawn to include stereotyping, intimidation, sexual harassment, among others as women’s experience in male-dominated technical and vocational education at Polytechnic. A compelling finding is the perception of the participants that working hard and ignoring the biases of others reinforces their position in this field. Additionally, the technical and vocational education environment should be conducive to acquisition and development of technical and vocational education skills for women INTRODUCTION Globally many countries accept the fact that the field of technical and vocational education is a key factor to develop the country’s economic growth, quality of life and job creation and women can play key role for its development. Before independence and some years after, most families in Nigeria laid more emphasis on the education of males than females. One gender group was favored over the other; not because of the groups’ interest or abilities but rather because of believe concerning what role the gender group should play in the society. This discrepancy in education of men and women was inherited from the colonialism. Early educational curriculum was designed to train women as Nurses, Teachers, Clarks, Home Science or Trading. They were not in Medicine, Politics, and Engineering, Law and Environmental studies (Oyitso & Olomukoro, 2012). Women constitute over 50% of the total population in Nigeria. Economically, women contribute 75% towards food production, 60% towards domestic food storage and food processing, 75% toward marketing and about 90% towards all households in Nigeria yet their training in technical and vocational education still lags far behind that of men (Anugwom, 2009). Most African countries have shortage of all kinds of qualified personnel in the higher education with shortage being in the sciences and technical related courses. Present education policy in Nigeria allows for female enrollment in all programs including non-traditional women’s program like technical and vocational education. This gives women equal access to education and training as men. In respect of gender specific roles influence in relation to students’ psychomotor performance in technical courses Ayang & Edu (2012) holds that all along opportunities in technical and vocational education has been for men alone, thus creating an imbalance and inferiority complex among women. This is why the Common Wealth Association of Polytechnics in Africa (CAPA) sought to address this women experience in technical and vocational education by setting up Women in Technical Education (WITED) in 1998 with the main objective of enhancing attitudinal change in people and society in respect of the role of women in technical and vocational education as well as enhanced psychomotor competencies for national development. In line with the above, Ellis 1997 (in Ayang & Edu, 2012) asserts that there are many Nigerian women who are highly intelligent, but are not encouraged especially in the science-related and technical professions and thus not contribute to nation building. Few women students are into science-based and ISSN: 2201-6333 (Print) ISSN: 2201-6740 (Online) www.ijern. com 284 technical profession because of the erroneous perception that such jobs/professions are male domain. Ayang & Edu, (2012) stated there is a lot of evidence of empirical studies towards the end of last century all of which emphasize the imbalances in representation and achievement of males and females in science, mathematics and technology. The experience of women in technical and vocational education and science related courses are not peculiar to Nigeria as it is a global issue. Studies indicate that women are still generally underrepresented in higher institution in the field of science, engineering and technology (Ceci & Williams, 2011). A study of women scientists in the United Kingdom (UK) reveal that women are still underrepresented in the higher echelons of science, engineering and technology (Van Langena et al., 2006). Female students accounts for 31% of science, engineering, technology and mathematics graduation in the UK and 33% in USA ( (Van Langen, et al., 2006). Similarly, Kishore (2008) reported on the dismally low representation of women in technology related enterprises and institutes of higher education in India. In Australia, women make up about 51% of the population which is almost similar to Nigeria yet they are underrepresented in technology related areas. In Australia women in science, engineering and technology advisory group belief that continued underrepresentation of women in this field based education, training and employment ground is not only a cause for social concern on equality grounds, it is also likely to inhibit Australia’s capability to develop internationally competitive research and industries (Bell, 2009). Although exact percentage across institutions are hard to come by South Africa studies reflect a similar trend, with the lowest proportion of female students in higher education found within the field of science, engineering and technology (Bailey and Mouton 2004). In many countries, young women are more likely to be unemployed than young men, United Nation (UN, 2012). The marginalization of women in employment and training is a relevant issue globally given the potential impact on human capital, but particularly in those countries in which women constitute the majority of the population (Kabeer, 2005). Overcoming this imbalance between women and men in employment and training skill seems a long way off. Gender stereotypes “linking men with high technology” whereas women are “thought to be insufficiently professional and technically-oriented” remain to persist in almost all part of the world. Women “tend” to concentrate on a small range of mostly “typically female” or female dominated” occupations. Even in new skilled jobs in the information and communication technologies the gender gap is prevailing phenomenon. Studies show that the number of female students entering science and technology related courses in secondary schools are increasing but female graduates in post secondary institutions are still in the minority (Egun & Tibi, 2010). Thus professional technical and vocational education courses in Nigeria as in other part of the world have always been male dominated. The role of women in economic development of a nation cannot be ignored and it is therefore significant to understand women position in technical and vocational education that has lead to few women in this field. It is important to promote and encourage women to take advantage of the global demand for skilled labor to participate in technical and vocational education, thus this study using qualitative approach to interview female students in technical and vocational education to understand their position as to why few women in this field in Nigeria. CAREER CHOICE Working to earn a good living in the modern world is as important to women as it is to men. The economic and social prosperity of Nigeria depends on fully utilizing the skill and contribution of all citizens including women. Labor supply in Nigeria today is characterized by abundance of unemployed and underemployed workers, most in the agricultural and informal sectors, low productivity, and by serious shortage of skilled workers and technicians in the industrial and service sectors. International agencies have estimated that Nigeria needs 230000 engineers and 920600 technicians to drive its economic growth. However, only 11000 engineers are currently registered with the Nigeria society of Engineers (Ola, 2002). According to FRN Appraisal report (2005) women participation in most scientific and technical occupation (architects, engineers and others) is estimated to be less than 10%. The new global economy increasingly demands more highskilled and better educated workers than ever before. While more women are working than ever before, many do not have the skill necessary to obtain the high-wage jobs needed to adequately support themselves and their families (AAWU, 2010). American Association of University Women (AAUW) believes that career and technical education (CTE) is increasingly important for women and girls seeking to earn their way in a competitive market place. According to IFUW report 2010 studying science and technology will lead to better paid employment outcomes and increase women’s financial independence and security. Salam (2010) opined that knowledge of science and technology is essential to understanding th