EXPLORING GENDER AS A CORRELATE OF UNDERGRADUATES’ INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION

This study investigates how gender correlates with undergraduates' interest in science and technology education.Consequently, a correlational research design was implemented for the study.Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study.The population for this study comprised all 765 undergraduates of Science and Technology Education at Rev. Fr.Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi.A sample of 158 undergraduates (91 female & 67 male), selected using a multistage sampling technique, was used for the study.Gender and Interest in Science and Technology Questionnaire (GISTQ), with a reliability coefficient of 0.974, determined using Cronbach's Alpha, was employed as an instrument for data collection.The data generated were analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC).The findings of the study revealed that there is no statistically significant correlation between gender (whether male or female) and undergraduates' interest in science (p = .316> .05,and p = .190> .05;for males and females, respectively).However, the study further reveals that while the correlation between female undergraduates and interest in technology was not statistically significant (p = .316> .05),there existed a statistically significant correlation between male undergraduates and interest in technology (p = .316> .05).Therefore, the study concluded that gender does not correlate with undergraduates' interest in science, however, there exists a disparity in undergraduates' interest in technology based on gender in favour of males.The study recommended, among others, that universities should initiate campaigns to raise awareness about the importance of gender diversity in science and technology education.