September - Vol 70, No 1 - International Technology and ...

events (Mitts, 2008). Before tabulating these gender
choices, the description of each TSA competitive event
listed in the official guides for both middle and high school
was examined; then based upon the Weber-Custer study, a
predictive judgment was made by the researcher as to the
type of event category in which it belonged. Out of a total
of 64 events, it was determined that 26 were designing
and/or communication-type events, and 26 were utilizingtype
events.
Definite conclusions were drawn from the resulting
data. Male and female participants in these TSA state
conferences differed in their preferences for types of
competitive event activities. Males clearly had a strong
bias for utilizing-type activities such as Dragster Design
(7 out of 9 events), while females had a preference for
nonutilizing design and/or communication-type events (10
out of 10). These results were consistent with the findings
of the Weber-Custer research. A correct prediction of
gender preferences for TSA competitive events was made
before data analysis in 20 out of 21 cases (95%) for which
statistically significant results were found. Some TSA
events were omitted from the study because there were not
enough entrants to analyze validly. In addition, the data
clearly suggested that both males and females prefer team
activities by 77%. Of high importance to researchers, but
of little utility to teachers, the validity and reliability of the
Weber-Custer criteria as a predictor of gender preferences
was confirmed.
New Findings Discovered in the Mitts Study
The original Mitts study used raw numbers of students
selecting certain TSA events and the “Chi-Square” statistic
as the basis for determining the predictive capability
of the Weber-Custer assumptions. Thus, if the Weber-
Custer approach predicted that the event “Manufacturing
Prototype” would be favored by males, and then 10 boys
and 8 girls actually entered the contest, it would appear
that boys preferred this event. However, if the same data is
reexamined based on percentages of the total numbers of
girls and boys attending the conference selecting this event,
we see that the 10 boys were from a group of 244 total
(4.10%) while of the total girls present (115) the 8 selecting
this event represents 6.96%. In actuality, the percentage of
girls selecting Manufacturing Prototype at this particular
conference was slightly higher than the percentage of boys.
Hence, the present study reexamines all of the Mitts (2008)
data to provide information easily understood in laymen’s
terms concerning which activities and TSA competitive
events might be more attractive to girls, which are more
or less neutral, and which boys prefer. It is acknowledged
that this casual approach of examining percentages does
not rise to the level of statistical significance available via
the Chi-Square technique, but it allows us to make good
guesses about cases with small numbers, whereas it could
take several years of collecting data to attain statistical
significance for them.
In the reexamination of data from the Mitts study,
columns were added to the original data tables showing
the percentages of males and females selecting each
competitive event, while the previous columns concerning
the Weber-Custer predictions were deleted. The resulting
tables, including the columns of percentages (Tables 3 and
4 for middle school and high school), were then examined
and used to identify specific events favored by males or
females and an informal indication of the magnitude of
their preferences. The following scale of capital and lower
case letters indicating magnitude was used to indicate
preferences:
M = Strong Male preference (more than 5% points)
m = slight Male preference (1-4.99 % points)
none = no preference (less than 1% point difference)
Fundamentals of Technology Class, East Lincoln High School, Lincoln
County, NC. As the research study on TSA gender preferences
confirmed, boys love to build dragsters. Photographer: Charles
Mitts 2003.
N-F = No Finding, 0 females entered the event, so any
apparent finding is invalid
f = slight female preference (1-4.99 % points)
F = Strong Female preference (more than 5% points)
22 • Technology and Engineering Teacher • September 2010