Family-Related Determinants and Implications of Low Female Enrolment in Electrical Trade in Adamawa State

Abstract

This study determined the perceived family-related determinants and implications of low enrolment of female students in electrical trade in technical colleges of Adamawa State. Two research questions were answered and two null hypotheses formulated to guide the study were tested at 0.05 level of significance. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of 13 Electrical Installation and Maintenance Work Trade (EIMWT) teachers and 129 parents of National Technical Certificate Two (NTCII) EIMWT students (either father or mother) in three Government Science Technical Colleges of Adamawa State. There was no sampling done as the entire population was used. A researcher developed 20-item questionnaire was used for the collection of data. Three lecturers from Electrical Technology Education Department of Modibbo Adama University Yola, validated the questionnaire. A reliability coefficient of the questionnaire was established to be 0.87 using Cronbach Alpha method. The research questions were answered using weighted mean while t-test of independent samples was used to test the hypotheses. The study revealed low contribution from the female gender to family income in households and increased level of dependency of the female gender on the males in Adamawa State as major perceived family-related implications. The study therefore recommended among others that Adamawa State Government in collaboration with corporate bodies should embark on an awareness campaign in order to enlighten parents and family members on the prospects of EIMWT especially to female gender. The study concludes that mechanisms should be put in place to improve female enrolment into EIMWT as a way of investing in the education of females in view of breaking cycles of poverty and social vices that the females might be lured into.