The development of co-curricular interventions to strengthen female engineering students' sense of self-efficacy and to improve the retention of women in traditionally male-dominated disciplines and careers

Abstract

Self-efficacy relates to positive outcomes for women studying and working in traditionally male-dominated fields such as engineering, science, and technology. Many women engineering students (WES) experience fear and insecurity about how they will be treated and perceived in this traditionally male-dominated field, either as a WES or as a working engineer. This study provides support for the development of co-curricular interventions to improve the self-efficacy of WES at a South African tertiary institution. The research design for this study is based on a phenomenological approach that uses a process of critical analysis of evaluation and feedback documents relating to the various co-curricular interventions and their perceived influence on selected WES's self-efficacy. Finally, as there has been no other South African research on WES and the sources of self-efficacy, this research is unique in the South African context.

Translated abstract

Daar is 'n verband tussen selfdoeltreffendheid en positiewe resultate vir vroue wat studeer en werk in tradisionele mansgedomineerde dissiplines, soos ingenieurswese. Daar is egter baie vroulike ingenieurswese studente wat vrese en onsekerhede ervaar oor hoe hulle behandel en waargeneem sal word in 'n tradisionele, mansgedomineerde dissipline, hetsy as student of as werkende ingenieur. Hierdie navorsingstudie bied ondersteuning vir die ontwikkeling van mede-kurrikulêre ingrypings om die selfdoeltreffendheid van vroue studente in ingenieurswese aan 'n Suid-Afrikaanse tersiêre instelling te verbeter. Die navorsing in hierdie studie is gebaseer op 'n fenomenologiese benadering, en gebruik 'n proses van kritiese ontleding van evaluering en terugvoer dokumente van verskillende mede-kurrikulêre ingrypings, en die invloed daarvan op geselekteerde vroue ingenieurstudente se selfdoeltreffendheid. Ten slotte, aangesien geen ander Suid-Afrikaanse navorsing oor selfdoeltreffendheid en vroulike ingenieurswese studente gevind kon word nie, is hierdie studie uniek in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks.