Engineering as a study and career path for female students: factors that determine their choice

Abstract

Despite European policies and initiatives are encouraging the participation of women in STEM disciplines, they remain male-dominated fields and still few females develop their learning and professional path in these areas of knowledge and career. Focusing the attention on this underrepresented group, the article deals with the theme of academic learning choice in engineering field of female students. Specifically, the paper outlines the results of an exploratory case study on 7 students of the Departments of Engineering in a southern university. Through the use of semi-structured interviews, the paper sought to investigate both the determinants of female students’ academic learning and career choice, and their perceptions on engineering fields’ culture. Findings show that personal and contextual determinants impact on female students’ learning and career, becoming resources for their individual trajectories. At the end, practical implications are discussed from educational, social and political point of views.

Keywords: engineering’s female students, learning and career’s choice, self-efficacy, perceptions of engineering culture.