Female Students Who Succeed within Higher Technical Education – When and why They Choose and Who They are

Abstract

The importance of interest for and knowledge in technology and natural science among students can in Sweden be traced in political documents and in media debate. An increased need for female students in technical universities is stressed as well. Higher technical education is facing large dropouts and difficulties, including for female students. This study focuses on the female students who succeed in civil engineering programmes in Sweden, when and why they choose and who they are? Data were collected through a questionnaire sent out to all female students enrolled on civil engineering programmes during term 7 (of 10 terms) in Sweden in 2012. By using the Bourdieu's theory and the concept of capital, the study aims to find out who the female civil engineering student seems to be. In total 411 students answered the questionnaire. The questionnaire answers were analysed with SPSS both for descriptions (frequencies and cross tabulation) and classification (cluster analysis) and the aim was to detect different patterns within the material. From the material it is possible to describe the majority of female students on civil engineering programmes, but also to detect four different female student profiles. The research questions will be answered by analysing and discussing patterns detected in the questionnaire answers.