Micromessaging: A Qualitative Study on Female Enrollment, Persistence, and Attainment in Gender Nontraditional Postsecondary Career and Technical Education Programs

Abstract

Despite federal legislation on gender equity in any program receiving federal funds, there still exists a disproportionately low number of females in Career and Technical Education (CTE) community college programs leading to high demand and high wage careers. The study focused on Iowa community colleges. Individual interviews were conducted to identify the lived experiences of females in gender nontraditional community college CTE programs. An examination of the transcripts identified themes from the received messaging that may have influenced the decisions of participants to enroll, persist, and attain. The results identified the themes of persistence influenced by learning environment, instructor, and enrollment in a gender nontraditional community college CTE program with the hope of future job security. The different experiences in classrooms suggested a need for professional learning regarding classroom environments, teaching strategies, and collaboration with local high school CTE programs.