A Comparative Study of Performance of Male and Female Students in Selected Basic Engineering Courses at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso
Keywords:
: basic engineering courses, female students, gender, male students, performanceAbstract
The importance of engineering in nation development cannot be
overemphasized. This is because, the prosperity and economic well being of any country
have direct link with technological knowhow of such a country. Hence, adequate and indepth knowledge of basic engineering courses are required to become a successful
engineer. This study was carried out to determine, if there were significant differences in
the performance of male and female students in selected basic engineering courses at
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso. Secondary data in form of the
results or scores for the past five years were collected from the examination officers of
various departments, through the permission of their heads of departments. Essentially,
cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of the students was used. Data were analysed
using means and standard deviations at 95 % confidence level. Data were further subjected
to Anova-tests. The trends of performance of students based on gender, courses, and as well
as years of study were also investigated. The mean scores of 1.575, 2.40, 1.85, 2.875, 3.175
and 2.65 were obtained for female students for the period of five years in the six selected
courses in the harmattan semester, while the corresponding mean scores for male students
were 1.725, 1.725, 2.35, 3.40, 3.55 and 3.125. In the rain semester, the mean scores of 2.00,
3.20, 2.375, 2.775,1,775 and 2.675 were obtained for female students, while mean scores of
2.45, 3.625, 3.375, 3.125, 2.65 and 3.525 were obtained for male students. Statistics
revealed that, there was significant difference in the overall performance between the male
and female students in the six selected basic engineering courses in both harmattan and rain
semesters. The study concluded that, the males are academically superiors to females in the
six selected basic engineering courses examined.
