Dissertation
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- Gender of lecture respondents
Lecturers’ demographicsTable 4.1 presents the respondents’ profile, specifically focusing on lecturers. The data is broken down by gender, age, education, marital status, and working experience. Table 4.1 Respondents’ profile – Lecturers
Source: Field Data (2023) The research topic focuses on bridging the digital skills gap with disruptive engineering technologies, particularly in the context of mechanical engineering education in Ghanaian technical universities. The findings show that male lecturers (65.4%) dominate female lecturers (34.6%) in terms of gender. Background information for this study highlights the significance of tackling gender disparities in engineering fields, a problem that has long been held up by researchers, decision- makers, and educators. The research's findings demonstrate that mechanical engineering is a male-dominated field and emphasise the ongoing gender disparity in the field's education. The relatively high number of female instructors, in contrast to earlier research findings, was an unexpected discovery, indicating that there has been some progress in the area of gender diversity in the mechanical engineering education sector in Ghanaian technical colleges. It is consistent with the results of the current study that there is a skewed gender distribution in engineering, particularly mechanical engineering (Canney & Bielefeldt, 2015; Faulkner, 2009). The increased efforts by universities and policymakers to encourage gender diversity in engineering education may be the cause of the higher percentage of female lecturers than previously recorded. For instance, the University of Ghana has put in place programmes like the Female in Engineering Initiative to increase the number of women enrolling in engineering programmes (Wrigley-Asante et al., 2023). These initiatives may have helped raise the number of female instructors in Ghana's technical universities. Based on the study's findings, it can be said that while there is still a gender gap in the teaching of mechanical engineering in Ghanaian technical universities, there has been an improvement in having more female lecturers. In line with this assertion, other studies (such as those by Hewlett et al., 2008) have demonstrated that including more women in engineering education can result in a more varied and inclusive workforce, which is ultimately advantageous to the engineering profession and society at large. Future study suggestions call for examining the elements that have led to the rise in the number of female professors at Ghanaian technical colleges as well as the efficacy of various approaches to advancing gender diversity in engineering education. It would also be insightful to look at how this greater diversity affects students' learning outcomes and experiences. Future policies and practises aimed at promoting gender diversity in engineering education will be influenced by the justification for the need for additional research, an understanding of the factors contributing to the increased representation of female lecturers in mechanical engineering education, and an evaluation of the efficacy of various strategies. Examining how this greater variety affects students' learning processes and results can also help to create more inclusive engineering education programmes, which will eventually help the engineering profession and society. Download 2.1 Mb. Share with your friends:
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