ARE WOMEN UNMOTIVATED TO LEARN TECHNOLOGY AND CHOOSE A TPC MAJOR?
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Are Women Unmotivated to Learn Technology and Choose a TPC Major?
By
Kara M. Payton
East Carolina University
ARE WOMEN UNMOTIVATED TO LEARN TECHNOLOGY AND CHOOSE A TPC MAJOR?
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Kara M. Payton
English 6702 Dr. G. Getto
Module 4 Quantitative Research Instrument/Protocol – November 4, 2015
Background, Rationale and Problem Statement:
In 1989, Mary Lay did a groundbreaking study on men and women and their differences collaborating
in the classroom. She concluded that men and women handle classroom conflict in collaboration very
differently in styles and this adversely affected women. In the past twenty-six years, TPC researchers
have set out to prove Mary Lay right in her conclusions about gender differences. Much to the surprise of
feminists in the TPC community, researchers like Thompson (2006) found that once men and women
work together, the communication differences disappear in the workplace culture and essentially do not
make a difference. The questions about gender differences in communication styles in classrooms seem to
have been answered, but we do not know why they have been answered. Conversely, if there are these
communication differences, how do women feel about technology in the TPC major if differently from
men?
In reality, men may have overtaken the field of technical communication, leaving women out in the
cold. However, the women entering the field may have adapted to the male-dominated TPC classrooms.
In addition, something may be deterring women from choosing the TPC major; therefore, the missing
numbers of women in the classroom and maybe the subsequent workforce. One reason women are
missing from TPC classrooms could be the motivation to learn technology as a profession. Since the
classroom is the gateway to the TPC field, if they are missing from the classroom, they could be
diminishing in the field all together.
With women missing from the classrooms, it is not surprising that over the last fifteen years
(according to Thompson, (2006)), TPC feminist studies research and interest has diminished. Research
may have declined, but we do have some unanswered questions yet. For example, how do men and
ARE WOMEN UNMOTIVATED TO LEARN TECHNOLOGY AND CHOOSE A TPC MAJOR?
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women learn technology differently and how does that affect them when choosing the TPC classroom as
their major? In the past, Thompson and Smith (2006) and Thompson (1999) conducted studies on “gender
neutral” classrooms, the absence of mentioning women and women’s issues in TPC textbooks and
classroom environments. TPC may be still a male-dominated field – why we do not know. White et al,
female scholars and English professors at Purdue University (2015) call for more feminist research in
their male-dominated classrooms that “average only one female student per class of 22”. With women
missing in their classrooms, it is not surprising that they do find it difficult to mention feminist studies in
their curriculum.
White et al are disturbed to find little has changed in the last twenty-five years in TPC, “genderneutral” classrooms. The fact is, women are underrepresented in the classrooms, the gateway to enter the
field of TPC. (We don’t know if women are underrepresented in the workplace as well, however.) It is as
if these past studies did not make a concrete difference or change in TPC classrooms. Could one reason
for women missing in the classrooms due to lack of motivation to learn technology and therefore choose a
heavily-laden technological field? Women may not be choosing the TPC major due to its scientific nature.
It has been studied that women tend to be encouraged to choose “feminine” fields rather than “masculine”
science and technology fields like TPC.
Women may be unmotivated to learn technology in their future profession. For example, Hwang et al
(2009) completed a study about middle school children and girls’ lack of motivation to learn technology.
The study pointed to familial relationships and societal expectations of the girls and their motivation to
learn technology. It is quite surprising since one would not think to find this fear in a young generation of
students with so much technology available to them. The study concluded it was an attitude difference not
aptitude difference that lead to this gap between males and females. More research on females and
technology needs to be conducted, since much previous research on females and mathematics has been
done. A new study needs to be conducted on how men and women avoid choosing TPC as a profession
and if women avoid studies in the field all together due to these fears.
ARE WOMEN UNMOTIVATED TO LEARN TECHNOLOGY AND CHOOSE A TPC MAJOR?
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Research Question/Objectives:
The research objectives for this study are to determine if technology use and learning in the classrooms
is having a negative effect on women deciding to enter or not to enter TPC programs at regional
universities. The main question for research is:

Do women fail to enter the field of TPC studies due to lack of motivation, frustration, or interest
in technology?
This study will be a quantitative one using two surveys and five groups of various participants
classified by profession and gender. The two control groups will have technology or scientific
backgrounds. We will observe if lack of technology knowledge and gender are factors in why
freshman women and men may not want to choose TPC as a career. We will administer a survey to
these freshman women, freshman men, and a mail a separate survey to guidance counselors to
determine if technology fears are keeping women out of the TPC classroom and choosing it as their
major.
Research Design:
This research will be a quantitative study using an in-person, and a separate written survey to four
groups of undergraduate freshman and one group of guidance counselors. There are, in total, five groups
of participants. We will randomly select each group from universities in the five regions of the country,
representing the U.S. The five randomly selected universities will have feminist studies departments, TPC
departments, and vocational guidance departments. The universities will be randomly selected from a
master list of Peterson’s College universities put into a computer program. Ten guidance counselors (a
male and female from each university) will be selected randomly from the five regional universities. A
separate survey will be mailed to ten guidance counselors about the different objections of women and
ARE WOMEN UNMOTIVATED TO LEARN TECHNOLOGY AND CHOOSE A TPC MAJOR?
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men have when choosing TPC as a major. Men and women freshman will be equally represented so as to
see the differences in how they choose a TPC major and if learning and knowing technology influences
the decision.
We will design the survey questions so that they are asked if their chosen major will be TPC and why
or why not it is chosen. We will also measure the students’ attitudes toward technology. The two
experimental groups will be selected with no science and technology background. The control group of
undecided men and undecided women will have a technology background. All four groups of undergrad
students will receive guidance counseling with a vocational aptitude test. Having control groups of men
and women will help determine if gender and technology background/training is a factor in the decision to
choose a TPC major. Undergraduate freshman aged 25-65 will be left out of the survey. In another study,
we will examine age as factor in the decision to choose TPC.
Participants/Sample:
There will be four groups of participants selected by gender and undergraduate status in five regions of
the country. In each grouping of students, we will select participants by taking simple random sampling
of five universities in five country regions that offer TPC, feminist studies, and guidance counseling
departments. Each group will be made up randomly of students from the five different regions. We will
choose each university from the five areas of the U.S. – one from the West, on from the Southwest, one
from the Northeast, one from the Southeast and one from the Midwest. These five U.S. regions will
represent the whole U.S. The fifth group we will select randomly two (male and female) guidance
counselors in vocational guidance departments from the five universities that also offer TPC programs
and feminist studies programs. We will have ten guidance counselors all together, two randomly selected
from each of the five regions of the U.S.
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For the four other groups of undecided freshman undergrads that have expressed an interest in TPC,
we will procure a list from the registrar and vocational departments of the regional universities. The
guidance counselors will be given a separate, open-ended survey about undergrad students entering the
TPC profession. Sample Survey 1 will be administered to four groups of undergrad students representing
the five selected universities. For this survey of students, the first group will contain a 25% random
sample (or one in four) of undergraduate freshman female TPC students aged 18 to 25 that have not
selected their major but had shown an interest in TPC. They will have a background in technology or
science. The second group will be undergrad freshman men -- 25% male students aged 18-25 that have
not selected their major but have shown an interest in TPC. They will have a background in technology or
science. The third control group will be 25% female undergrads aged 18-25 that have not had the
technology background. The forth control group will be 25% undecided men aged 18-22 that have not
had technology background. The fifth group of guidance counselors will only receive the Sample Survey
2 in determining what makes undecided students choose TPC. They will be five randomly selected female
and five randomly selected male guidance counselors in the departments of the five regional colleges.
There will be a male and female guidance counselor from each college, ten all together.
All undergrad men and women in the four groups will be put through a video-recorded training class
on technology and observed to see if their frustration levels increase or decrease based on gender. Then,
all four groups of undergrads will all receive TPC vocational counseling from their university vocational
department and given a vocational aptitude test. At the end of the technology training, we will give them
the written survey asking their attitudes, training and technology affect choosing a major in TPC. We will
not choose older students aged 25-65 because the correlation between technological fears, age and
selection of a major will be determined in a separate study.
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Research Methods/Measurement/Instrumentation:
Two written, separate surveys will be administered (Sample Survey 1) and mailed (Sample Survey 2)
to these five groups of participants, undergraduate freshman women and men and vocational counselors.
A different survey will be mailed to vocational counselors to determine how students feel about learning
technology and determining a major in TPC. The format of the Sample 1 undergrads’ survey questions
will be scaled responses, a semantic differential scale will be used to determine undergraduates’ attitudes
about technology. The Sample 2 guidance counselors’ survey will be an open-ended questionnaire for the
more open-ended feedback from them about vocational decisions of the students.
Data Analysis/Detailed Study Procedures:
Survey 1 will have a format of scaled responses to help the participants reach a clear answer on their
attitudes toward technology. Survey 2 format will be an open-ended, mailed questionnaire. We will
examine the data of the four groups and categorize it based on gender and technology use. The second
survey will give us invaluable data about choosing a TPC major. The survey will result in data collection
of written survey documents from undergrad students at five universities in each region of the country. A
video recording of the technological training will be documented and analyzed.
With both surveys, if there is less than a 20% response rate, a mailed follow-up study will be sent to
non-respondents. Once the surveys are returned with the self-addressed, stamped envelopes, the responses
will be recorded in a software program for the interval data. Inferential statistics will be used to analyze
the interval data on the rating scale. We will determine the mean, or the average response. We will
determine correlations among the groups between gender and desire to learn technology. The Pearson r
will be used to analyze correlation between these two variables.
ARE WOMEN UNMOTIVATED TO LEARN TECHNOLOGY AND CHOOSE A TPC MAJOR?
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Internal Validity and Reliability:
The researchers will design the survey so that we will poll undergraduate freshmen men and women
and guidance counselors. We will measure their opinions and attitudes. The researcher’s attitudes will be
left out of the survey, making the survey as objective as possible. To avoid study bias, the researchers will
report participants’ attitudes and feelings, not their self-reported actions.
Internal validity will be examined by having both male and female groups with and without the
technology background. Validity will be ensured on the survey by adding factual questions that will be
checked by the researchers upon data analysis. Reliability will be ensured by asking the same questions
more than once on the survey. The questions will be reworded and may elicit the same responses.
Conclusion
This study will determine if gender is a factor in choosing a technology-based, scientific major like
TPC. Polling undecided freshmen that have an interest in TPC will help show us what makes women and
men choose TPC, and if women have technology apprehension. By using guidance counselors in a
separate survey, we will determine from an insider’s perspective how the major is chosen. Much more
research needs to be conducted to determine where women fit into the field of TPC, especially the
classroom—the gateway to TPC. We propose this study to help solve the problem of missing numbers of
women in the TPC classroom.
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References
Hwang, Young Suk, Fisher, William, Vrongitinos, Konstantinos. (2009). Calibrating a Measure of
Gender Differences in Motivation for Learning Technology. Journal of Instructional
Psychology,
36(3).
Lay, Mary. (1989, September). Interpersonal Conflict in Collaborative Writing: What We Can Learn
From Gender Studies. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Vol 3 No 2, 5-28.
Thompson, Isabelle, Overman, Elizabeth. (2006). Women and Feminism in Technical Communication—
An Update. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Vol 36(2), 183-199.
Thompson, Isabelle. (1999). Women and Feminism in Technical Communication: A Qualitative Content
Analysis of Journal Articles Published 1989 through 1997. Journal of Business and Technical
Communication. 13(2), 154-178. Retrieved from ProQuest Online.
White, Kate, Rumsey-Kesler Suzanne, Amidon, Stevens, (2015). Are We “There” Yet? The Treatment
Of Gender and Feminism in Technical, Business, and Workplace Writing Studies. Journal of
Technical Writing and Communication. Retrieved from jtw.sagepub.com September 18, 2015.
ARE WOMEN UNMOTIVATED TO LEARN TECHNOLOGY AND CHOOSE A TPC MAJOR?
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Appendix A
The Sample Survey 1 for Undergraduate Students
1.
How do you feel about learning technology?
a. Very comfortable b. somewhat comfortable c. uncomfortable d very uncomfortable
2.
How do you feel about choosing TPC as your major program for undergraduate study?
a. Very comfortable b. somewhat comfortable c. uncomfortable d. very uncomfortable
3. Does how you feel about technology affect your decision to choose TPC?
a. Yes it effects. b. maybe effects c. doesn’t effect d. somewhat effects
4. Do you feel you are frustrated easily with technology?
a.
Very frustrated b. somewhat frustrated c. not frustrated d. sometimes frustrated
5. Are you willing to learn technology to join the field of TPC?
a. Willing b. somewhat willing c. maybe willing d. unwilling
6.
How comfortable do you feel in declaring TPC as your major?
a. Very comfortable b. somewhat comfortable c. uncomfortable d. very uncomfortable
7.
Are you undecided in your choice of a major?
a. Undecided b. somewhat undecided c. very undecided d. decided
The Sample Survey 2 for Guidance Counselors
1.
What makes students determine that they will choose a TPC major?
2. How much does a background in technology determine if they will choose the major?
3. Do you find more men or women choose TPC?
4. Do you think gender is a factor in choosing the TPC major?
5. Do you find the students without a background in technology unmotivated to learn it?
6. Why do you think women are underrepresented in TPC?