Images of engineers and engineering among Tunisian young people

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Images of engineers and engineering among
Tunisian young people
Raoudha Ben Othman University of Tunis

• WFEO International Colloquium on Women in
  Engineering and Technology. Tunis, June 7th 2007

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Aims of the presentation

• 1. Portray teenagers and children images of
  engineers and engineering
• 2. Depict gender issues
• 3. Delineate teachers roles
• 4. Suggest practical solutions

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Background

• Images Perceptions, prototypes, or typical
  examples of a certain entity or venture
• Sources family, school, media
• Research negative stereotypical images translate
  to negative perception and negative attitude
• Young girls who perceive of engineering as a
  masculine career will not choose it as a career

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Tunisian Context

• 57,2 of higher education students are female
  (www.universites.tn)
• 30 of working engineers are female (2004
  statistics INS)

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Methodology

• Subjects
• 180 secondary school students aged 15-16
• 180 primary school pupils

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Tools

• Questionnaire
• Draw me an engineer test
• Teacher led class discussions

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N140 Questionnaires (45 boys and 55girls)
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Drawings

• No major difference between children and
  teenagers drawings.
• None of the drawings contained a picture of a
  woman
• Most drawn engineers have glasses, are
  middle-aged, look scruffy wear a lab coat and
  hold some kind of tool
• Some pictures contained a working bench

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Group interviews

• Both male and female students showed more
  definite position NOT to become an engineer than
  to become one
• No significant differences between female and
  male students who are determined to become
  engineers

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• Engineering is a masculine job

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Images of engineering and engineers

• Not as lucrative as medicine
• Unclear and vague about what the job of an
  engineer is
• Very few students drew an engineer working on a
  computer
• Respondents tend to think that an engineer
  designs, manifactures but they seem to have very
  vague ideas about how they do so or specifically
  where they work.

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Class discussions

• Teachers seem to have naive ideas about engineers
  and engineering.
• Teachers did not give the children the name of a
  famous modern engineer. Most of the examples are
  old (Graham Bell)
• In leading the class discussions about future
  careers, teachers allocated more turns to boys
  than to girls
• In leading class discussions about studying
  engineering, teachers seemed to allocate turns
  equally between girls and boys

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Class discussions (continued)

• Critical incidents analysis show that female
  elementary teachers are perpetuating gender
  stereotypes like  you can study engineering but
  you cant work as one 
• Teachers socializing agents convey social
  expectations

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Conclusion

• Students and teachers hold naive conceptions of
  engineering
• The necessity to enhance the image of engineers
  and specifically of the working environment
• Both male and female students are determined to
  choose other lucrative careers than engineering

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Practical suggestions

• Teachers need to be more aware that they are
  perpuating cultural stereotypes which might
  affect the girls planning for a future career.
• The necessity to design pedagogical tools that
  help them give elementary school children more
  positive cultural signals about studying
  engineering and building professional carers too.

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Overview of the student learning perspective
Figure 1 Model of Student Learning
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Thank you

• R.benothman_at_fshst.rnu.tn