Institutional context factors and female students’ choice of career in science TVET in technical training institutes in Siaya County, Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to determine the relationship between selected institutional context factors and female students' choice of career in science TVET in Technical Training Institutes in Siaya County, Kenya. The study was guided by Social Cognitive Theory as posited by Bandura (1986) and Holland's Theory of Occupational Choice (1959, revised 2017). The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Reliability was tested using a test-retest method.  Cronbach alpha method was also used to test internal reliability. The research instruments were questionnaires for lecturers, female and male students.  Piloting was done in the village polytechnics a sample size of 316 female students sampled using census method. Also, 291 male students from a total target population of 1136 determined using Krejcie and Morgan Sample Size Determination (1970) formular. Proportionate sampling technique was used to sample respondents in different strata and TTIs. Tools in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 were used to analyse data. Frequencies, percentages and means were computed. Inferential statistics, namely; regression coefficients, T-statistics, F-statistics, correlation of coefficients, were derived. The findings were presented in tables. The researcher concluded that there was a strong, negative and statistically significant relationship between institutional context factors and female students' choice of career in science TVET Programmes (r=-0.726^**; p<0.01). The researcher recommended that effective career counselling services should be put in place in all TTIs offering TVET science courses and TTIs should encourage lecturers to seek higher education in pedagogy.