Women’s Voices in College CTE: Themes from a Phenomenological Study of Automotive Technician Trainees

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 9:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Elevating Diverse Perspectives in Higher Education: Women’s Voices, Motivations, and Challenges in Career and Graduate Studies (Table 13)

Abstract

Women-identifying students are a minority within many career and technical education (CTE) programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. In the automotive industry, college CTE programs enroll very few women. Understanding what these women experience during their academic and field work journeys through the program will help institutions and the automotive industry make meaningful changes to the CTE programs that serve as direct pipelines to a very gender-lopsided workforce.
As we showcase the findings from a phenomenological study of women enrolled in a postsecondary automotive technician training program, three themes with implications for program administration emerge: the importance of a strong internship program, the consequences of drawing attention to one’s gender identity, and women’s reliance on internal toughness.

Authors

• Susannah W Townsend, The Ohio State University

• Emily Thatcher Creamer, The Ohio State University