Investigating Factors Influencing Girls Participation in Science and Technology Education in Nigeria

Abstract

This study set out to investigate factors influencing female participation in science and technology in Nigeria. Five research questions were posed and one null hypothesis was set for analysis. Forty one science education students in Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike were the subjects of this study. Survey design was utilized. A 19-item questionnaire adapted by the researcher served as instrument of data collection. Research questions were analysed with mean and t-test was used to analyze the hypothesis. Results show that home, school and society are important factors influencing female participation in science and technology in Nigeria. The aspects of Females being saddled with lot of domestic chores, intimidation of girls by boys, gender stereotyping in science and scarcity of female models in science and technology are noted in this study. Based on the findings, recommendations are made among which is the need for parents to distribute domestic chores equally between boys and girls at home to enable girls to have enough time to study at home so they can delve into science and technology.