Determinación de fuerzas

Data collected from students in the study indicate that most female students chose professions that are viewed as feminine in Ghanaian society. Most girls opted for nursing, catering and petty trading. The reasons for their choices reflected the expectations and assumptions of girls and women‟s role in society, such as offering services and caring for others: „I want to become a nurse so that I can help people‟, „I like to be a nurse so that I can help my parents at the village‟ (Female students 16/11/05). When probed further as to why they did not want to be doctors, they replied: „Okay, as a girl I think nursing is good for us‟, „If you want to be a doctor, you may end up not succeeding because it takes a long time to finish‟, „I prefer the lady‟s own, nursing to doctor [Laughs] because most at times doctor is for men and nurse is for ladies‟ (Female students 16/11/05). Among the girls, a career in medicine was the most popular choice, but not necessarily as a doctor. A few girls however, showed interest in other careers such as being a journalist, a lawyer and a fire officer. The majority of the male students on the other hand were interested in becoming medical doctors, engineers, lawyers, architects, police and army officers. Responding to my question as to what they would like to be in future, some of them said:

„I would like to be an architect. In fact I have a friend who is an engineer so he is my role model. I do normally ask him questions about the course and he told me that if I do technical course I can become an architect so when I came to this

170 school I decided to do building and construction which can lead me to an architecture course at the university‟ (James, male student, 21years 11/11/05).

„For me I‟m basing my plan on three places so that if one does not hold I would go to the other. The first one is I‟m planning to join the army after secondary school as my father is an army officer. If I don‟t get the army I will go to the polytechnic or the university to do mathematics and, become an engineer in future‟ (Paul, male student, 20years 14/11/05).

Responses received from boys show that most of them had great ambitions for the future and were more confident in what they wanted to do after school than girls who as a result of their social conditioning and the job opportunities available for them, have lower aspirations for their future. Smulyan (2004) suggests that most women and girls shun careers in science and mathematics because of the worry that they might be too old to marry by the time they complete the long training periods usually associated with such professions. Interestingly, none of the students wanted to be a teacher. Though, teaching is considered a relatively feminine occupation, no girl opted for it and the reasons were that of poor remuneration and the low status of teachers compared to women working in the health sector and other occupations. This does not augur well for future educational development in Ghana. The overall effect of the differential treatments girls experience from both parents and teachers is reflected in their chosen occupations. The gender inequalities identified in the households and schools tend to limit girls‟ occupational choices.

Teachers‟ expectations of student‟s career choices were also gender biased. It was the expectation of most male and female teachers that girls go into professions viewed as feminine while boys go into those considered masculine. The following excerpts were captured from teachers‟ interviews.

171 „OK, girls as being mothers, I think that they should go into occupations or careers like nursing, teaching, then vocational work because this will help them to plan the home well‟ (Female teacher, 50-55years 16/11/05).

„It is my expectation that the boys should always take up very good and responsible positions such as teaching, medical doctor, engineer, pilot and law because we believe that these fields are so hectic and it is the believe that it is only boys who can do that better, because the chance of boys succeeding is greater than girls‟ (Male teacher, 35-40 years 07/11/05).

Teachers saw boys‟ and girls‟ occupational potential differently, appropriate careers for boys were those that were high status and well-paid, such as doctor, pilot, a politician or soldier whereas low income jobs such as nursing, teaching, nutritionist, cateress, hairdresser or secretary were seen as more appropriate for girls. One of the female teachers even viewed marriage as a career for girls. She suggested that girls who were less academically inclined could go into marriage. Most teachers and parents thought that girls could not go into jobs such as metalworker, carpenter, doctor, lawyer, or piloting which require technical skills because they thought that girls were not brave and strong enough to take up these jobs they considered masculine. They expected girls to go into careers that would help them in their expected future roles as housewives and mothers. These views often arise from deeply held socio-cultural beliefs and perceptions in the society. Students‟ choices therefore are a reflection of their desire to identify themselves with the presumed gender appropriate careers.

Analysis of students interviews show that their occupational choices had been influenced by teachers, parents, siblings, friends and other relatives. A few students also indicated that they had developed a strong interest in their career since childhood. However, the majority of students said the practical aspects of the vocational and technical subjects influenced their decision on career choices because they believed the practical skills acquired would make them self sufficient to establish small businesses. It seemed, therefore, that students were aware that the dwindling Ghanaian public sector

172 which employs about 18% of the population may not be able to offer them employment (Ghana Statistical Service, 2005). It was also the view of teachers that students in the Home Economics and Technical programmes would be able to establish independent enterprises if they took their practical lessons seriously. Students‟ career aspirations are also strongly influenced by expectations of what opportunities are likely to be on offer in the labour market. Teachers‟ and parents‟ expectations also channel boys and girls into occupations that are deemed appropriate for their sexes. This expectation goes beyond the borders of Ghana. For example, recent studies in the United States and the United Kingdom indicate that though many girls now choose a wider range of professional jobs, requiring higher qualifications than in the past and even outperform boys in schools, they are still concentrated in the arts and traditional female jobs while men dominate the sciences and masculine occupations due to cultural beliefs and institutional barriers (Smulyan, 2004; Francis, 2002; Clisby et al, 2007).

7.5 Conclusion

Within the classroom, girls received less attention in the teaching-learning process due to the low expectations teachers have about their academic abilities whereas boys‟ active participation was encouraged because of the higher expectations for their success. These classroom discriminatory practices of teachers limit the academic potential of girls. It is clear also from the discussion that girls were encouraged to choose subjects and careers that corresponded with society‟s expectations of their future roles as wives and mothers. For example, when a girl was selected for woodwork, which was perceived as inappropriate for her gender, all efforts were made by the school to put her in home economics where they (and she) thought she belonged. Girls‟ choice of home economics, biology and the arts leads to „feminine‟ careers in education and the care professions which are accorded lower status and salaries than those careers and occupations deemed „masculine‟. Boys on the other hand dominated the science, mathematics and technical, leading to higher incomes and professional careers which position them in high statuses in society.

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