Gender-Based Barriers to Enrollment in Building Technology Education: A Study of Students’ Experiences in Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic

Abstract

The study examined the influence of gender-based barriers to female enrolment in building technology education in Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic. There were two specific objectives, two research questions and two null hy- potheses for the study. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population for the study comprised of all female students from seven colleges in Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic. A purposive sampling technique was used to proportionately select one hundred and twelve (112) respondents for the study. The instru- ment for data collection was a structured questionnaire consisting of 27 items and it was validated by three experts. A reliability coefficient of 0.813 was obtained using Cronbach Alpha. Data collected was analyzed using mean and standard deviation while simple linear regression was used to test the null hypotheses. For taking decision, any item with a mean value of 3.50 and above was considered agreed while any item with a mean value of less than 3.50 was considered disagreed. For the test of null hypothesis, a hypothesis with a P - value < 0.05 significance level was considered accepted while any hypothesis with a P - value > 0.05 significance level was considered rejected. The findings revealed that gender-based barriers and sensitive tasks had significant effect on female enrolment and participation in building technology education. The study therefore recommended that parent should as much as possible be educated to attach equal weights to the education of both male and female children. Moreover, Public enlightenment strategies should be employed to increase female enrolment in Engineering and other Technology related courses, particularly building technology and civil engineering programs.