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Abstract
Despite an appreciation of the need to increase gender sensitivity and awareness among tertiary students in the field of science, engineering and technology (SET), there is a paucity of research that explores how students in this field construct gender. A greater understanding of such constructions can assist in transforming gender relations and creating a more gender‐sensitive learning environment for SET students. This paper explores SET students’ constructions of gender and the discourses they draw on when constructing female participation in SET. Focus group discussions were conducted with male and female students from an urban South African university. A discourse analysis identified various restrictive discourses that resist female participation in SET and value traditional gender roles for men and women, as well as more marginal voices that support gender equity. The paper concludes with recommendations for interventions aimed at challenging restrictive constructions of gender in higher education.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive input and Glen Blackadder for his assistance in preparing the manuscript. The broader research study from which this article is drawn was concerned with gender in the Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology (EBIT) curriculum. The project was conducted by the Institute for Women’s and Gender Studies.
Notes
1. Under the system of apartheid, South Africans were classified along racial lines as ‘Black/African’, ‘Coloured’, ‘White’ or ‘Indian’. These categories are now rejected but still exert influence in the perpetuation as well as redress of inequities. In the present study ‘Black’ is used to refer to all South Africans previously disadvantaged under the system of apartheid.
