Gender-based motivational differences in technology education

Because of a deeply gendered history of craft education in Finland, technology education has a strong gender-related dependence. In order to motivate girls into pursuing technological studies and to enable them to see their own potential in technology, gender sensitive approaches should be developed in technology education. This study explores differences between girls’ and boys’ motivation towards technology education in primary school (grades one to six). A questionnaire was carried out with pupils in grades five and six (n = 281). An Explorative Factor Analysis was performed on statements of motivation, and the independent samples t test was used to examine gender differences in pupils’ motivation. Factor analyses showed that pupils’ motivation structure consisted of nine factors. The results also showed gender differences in most factors. Compared to boys, girls were significantly more interested in studying environment related issues. They also felt it fundamental to obtain support and encouragement from teachers. Additionally girls enjoyed more than boys making useful and decorative artefacts for their homes. In contrast, boys liked more than girls building electronic devices and, in general, cared what kinds of artefacts were made in craft lessons. Boys were more self-confident; felt that they could learn new things; felt very enthusiastic about craft lessons and felt it was fun to learn how to operate different tools. These findings reveal obvious gender-based differences in pupils’ motivation. Curriculum writers and teachers should therefore pay more attention to girls to assist them with seeing the relevance of technology in their everyday lives as well as technology related careers.