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" Understanding Emirati Women's Reasons to Study the STEM-Related Subject of Engineering: "
Jenns, Caroline Louise
Guzmán-Valenzuela, Carolina
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Latin Dissertation
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| Language of Document
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English
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| Record Number
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1106863
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| Doc. No
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TLpq2417075446
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| Main Entry
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Guzmán-Valenzuela, Carolina
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Jenns, Caroline Louise
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| Title & Author
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Understanding Emirati Women's Reasons to Study the STEM-Related Subject of Engineering:\ Jenns, Caroline LouiseGuzmán-Valenzuela, Carolina
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| College
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The University of Liverpool (United Kingdom)
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| Date
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2019
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| student score
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2019
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| Degree
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Ed.D.
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| Page No
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182
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| Abstract
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Since the United Arab Emirates was formed in 1971, the pace of change in this country has been considerable, moving from a largely rural society to a predominantly urban one in just under fifty years. As, globally, it has been recognized that STEM-related graduates are necessary to move towards knowledge-based economies, so too the government of the United Arab Emirates has sought to develop their country around this vision in recent years. Despite this ambitious vision, literature available at the time of this research suggested that Emirati culture had not kept pace with this change. Globally, there is a shortage of women in STEM-related majors in Higher Education and subsequently in STEM-related careers. By contrast, in recent years, there has been a significant rise in the number of Emirati female students at one Higher Education institution in Dubai choosing to study the STEM-related subject of engineering. This initially appeared to be at odds with the culture and traditions of Emirati society as literature suggested engineering was considered to be a male-dominated career and Emirati females were discouraged from interacting with males outside their immediate family due to societal traditions. The purpose of this research was to establish the reasons for the rise in Emirati females at this institution opting to study engineering and, in turn, to bridge the literature gap related to Emirati females’ Higher Education study path decisions and, specifically, their rationale for choosing to study the STEM-related subject of engineering. This was carried out as a case study using an explanatory sequential MMR approach. While there were undoubtedly a multiplicity of factors surrounding these students’ decision to study engineering, two key influences emerged. Firstly, the continuing influence of Emirati families as part of a larger collectivist society and secondly, a shift in society towards the increasing acceptance of Emirati women’s place in engineering, aligning with the government’s vision for the future of the country. Beyond highlighting this societal shift, this study shows the importance of introducing STEM subjects early into the education system to encourage the uptake of STEM, while also providing a springboard for further research in this area.
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Engineering
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Middle Eastern studies
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Science education
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