An empirical study of the perception of undergraduates of Nigerian females participation in science, technology and mathematics

Science, Technology and Mathematics (STM) have been identified as the bed rock or foundation of wealth and consequently an imperative for national development. It has also been argued that in this era of globalization only persons with appreciable knowledge, skills and abilities in STM are required in the job market. Female gender discrimination is also said to be evident in the school system of many developing countries. This study was design to investigate the perception of undergraduates of Nigerian females' participation in STM. The study focused on subjects' awareness of the problem of under representation of females in STM, expected career choice for females, predisposing factors of females to STM education and strategies for change. Students in the university constituted the population for the study. Simple random sampling was used to select the subjects for the study. 438 subjects were selected from two universities in Benin City, Edo state of Nigeria. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire having four sections to reflect the four areas of focus of the study. Data collected were analysed with the use of descriptive statistics. Based on the findings of the study recommendations were made for enhanced participation of Nigerian females in STM.