From Studentship to Academia

Abstract

At all levels of education in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplinary fields, there are disparities in participation according to gender. This study explores the educational and professional experiences of female faculty in STEM in universities in Ghana. In-depth semi-structured interviews were undertaken employing 20 participants from universities in Ghana. Findings indicate that despite their success fueled by the support system available to them, gender disparities, fostered by patriarchy, characterized their educational and professional experiences. Their gendered experiences exacerbated in the higher education workplace as some sources of support turned to be sources of gender discrimination. This was because they were perceived as threats to the patriarchal status quo as they surged in the academic STEM trajectory.

Determinants of Female Students’ Choice of STEM Programmes in Tertiary Education: Evidence from Senior High Schools in Ghana

“…Awan et al (2017) concurred that interest in STEM-related subjects influences students to pursue further studies in STEM. Similar findings were revealed by Boateng and Gaulee (2019) and Wang (2013).…”

“…Pupils who had preferences for programmes they were admitted to, made decisions often based on gender-traditional choices, with more females than males being motivated by their parents and peers in taking such decisions (Mastekaasa and Smeby, 2008). For instance, the traditional belief that boys are more competent in mathematics than girls usually results in more boys enrolling in mathematics-related subjects (Boateng and Gaulee, 2019). Report by the Global Education Monitoring Team (2018) has also noted that women in Ghana account for less than one-quarter of all Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degrees.…”

“…For this agenda of more girls moving into STEM to materialise, then more girls must enroll in STEM-related programmes in higher education (Daddieh, 2003;Dunne et al, 2007;UNESCO, 2017). In Ghana, such decision is critical at the Senior High School (SHS) level, where after completion students are opened to a wide range of programmes to choose from at the tertiary level (Boateng and Gaulee, 2019). Existing studies on gender and STEM have been extensively conducted using different population (female faculty and students already in STEM, all students including both sexes in STEM and those not in STEM-related programmes, and stakeholders in STEM) (Acheampong, 2014;Edzie, 2014;Bahar and Adiguzel, 2016;Awan et al, 2017;Boateng, 2017;Boateng and Gaulee, 2019).…”

“…In Ghana, such decision is critical at the Senior High School (SHS) level, where after completion students are opened to a wide range of programmes to choose from at the tertiary level (Boateng and Gaulee, 2019). Existing studies on gender and STEM have been extensively conducted using different population (female faculty and students already in STEM, all students including both sexes in STEM and those not in STEM-related programmes, and stakeholders in STEM) (Acheampong, 2014;Edzie, 2014;Bahar and Adiguzel, 2016;Awan et al, 2017;Boateng, 2017;Boateng and Gaulee, 2019). From the viewpoint of UNESCO (2017) factors serving as obstacles to the participation of girls in STEM in Ghana include stereotype thinking, insufficient awareness creation on the essence of STEM, and gender and unfriendly insensitivity in classroom instruction.…”

Examination of the attitudes of grade 7 and 8 students towards STEM education in Turkey and Ghana

“…Even though research show that professions related to mathematics and science are perceived as male-dominated occupations, mathematics in STEM content mostly shows that it has the strongest masculinity for both genders, followed by physics and chemistry (Makarova et al, 2019). In the study of Boateng & Gaulee (2019), the interviews conducted with female faculty members specialized in STEM fields in universities in Ghana that revealed that despite the supports accessible to them, the gender differences perpetuated by patriarchy characterized these women's educational and professional experiences notwithstanding their achievement. Their gendered experiences in higher education were worsened by the fact that certain sources of support turned out to be sources of prejudice.…”