Social factors influencing the enrolment of female students in engineering and technical training institutions in Tanzania

This study aimed at investigating the influence of social factors on the enrolment of female students in engineering technical institutions in Tanzania. This study was both qualitative and quantitative, using a cross sectional de sign that involved the use of three data collection methods, namely questionnaires, interviews and documentary review. The study revealed that, for most parents, female children were second choice and not first choice to go for technical/engineering training institutions as they were culturally considered physically weak and meant to be housewife. Furthermore, enrolling into a technical/engineering institution is becoming an opportunity for only a few female candidates who not only are children of professional and culturally permissive parents but also come from an economically and financially secure background. It was, thus, concluded that social factors such as socio-cultural practices, parents' occupations, parents' income, and parental education had a significant influence on the enrolment of female students into engineering technicalinstitutions. Thus, the study recommends that traditional beliefs and practices that lead to negative attitudes towards enrolment of females in engineering-technical training institutions should be discouraged in the community through strong advocacy by way of frequent seminars, workshops and magazines as a way of developing awareness on the importance of engineering-technical skills to females. It also recommends economic empowerment particularly for rural agricultural communities; vocationalization of secondary education in Tanzania; as well as further research into social factors, especially on the effect of a particular tradition female circumcision -on enrolment, education and retention of female students in tertiary education and training institutions.