Abstract
This paper reports the results of an initial study investigating gender differences in interests and attitudes by pupils, aged 8-12 years, to school technology teaching in Sweden. The types of learning activities and content topics in technology teaching preferred by girls and boys were studied, as well as the differences regarding self-confidence in technology. The pupils’ attitudes to technological professions were also investigated. The study was conducted in ten schools. A total of 256 pupils completed a questionnaire that was administrated during their school technology sessions. The analysis of the answers showed that a vast majority of both boys and girls experienced school technology as very positive. No gender differences in preferences for different types of content and activities were detected. The pupils’ judgement of their own capability in the field of technology showed that both boys and girls considered themselves to be very competent. The boys felt, however, somewhat more certain about their competence compared with the girls. Gender differences were found in views of possible future occupations, but the pupils’ views of future occupations in technology showed no significant gender differences.
Highlights
The fact that technology is strongly associated with masculinity can be seen in the male dominance that exists in engineering
The results showed that experiencing teaching of technology in elementary school can compensate for gender differences in interest in technology
The results indicate that girls and boys to a great and equal extent experience school technology teaching as very positive
Summary
The fact that technology is strongly associated with masculinity can be seen in the male dominance that exists in engineering. In Sweden, during the academic year 2007/2008, the proportion of female students at the Master of Science in Engineering Programme was 25%, and in other higher education technical programmes it was 23% (SCB, 2009). The proportion of women in the Master of Science in Engineering Programme has slowly declined over the past decade. This raises the question of how much interest in technology there is among girls at the elementary school level. Structural gender is concerned with organisation and division of labour by gender; individual gender focuses on the socially constructed individual identity; and symbolic gender is about the perceptions that our institutions express. The relationship to technology and machines is an important part of men’s cultural and social identity, while this could even be counteractive to the construction of feminine identity (Mellström, 2003)
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