Gender Discourses in Civil Engineering TVET College programs: Marginalized Female Voices in the Learning of Engineering Concepts

Collectively, the Engineering sector is still the most male-dominated field and most TVET College graduates are males. Why is this even a case when the fourth industrial revolution pushes all livelihood boundaries and ensures that males and females are exposed to similar opportunities in the sector? Of course, there can never be a comprehensive response to this patriarchal question. Hence, this study delved into this societal issue through classroom discourse in a Civil Engineering and Building Construction course at a TVET college in Limpopo Province. This study was premised on the fact that lecturers in the college use “male” examples more than those of women which affects how women perceived the Civil Engineering field. Moreover, this study laid bare the preferences of female students and how they want to be involved in discourses without making reference to gender roles. This study used a qualitative research approach for a case of eleven (11) female students. Data was collected through focused group interviews. The study employed the Social Identity Theory as its framework. The study found that indeed unconscious biases are happening during classroom discourses and that the lecturers seem to be unaware of this. As a recommendation, reskilling, and upskilling of TVET college lecturers is needed as a matter of urgency with a focus on their scholarship of teaching and learning. Universities as close partners to TVET colleges can facilitate these professional development programs. This study contributes to the global discourse on female inclusion in the engineering sector and the pedagogical practices of an engineering educator in a TVET college. Keywords: Classroom discourse, Civil Engineering, Female students, TVET colleges