Females in Technical Apprenticeship: Development of Aptitudes, Performance and Self-Concept

Abstract

The study reported in this paper forms part of a larger research programme which is motivated primarily by social, political and economic factors. Politically, it is intended to extend the occupational possibilities for women, whose occupational choices until now have concentrated on a far more restricted range of occupations than those of men. Moreover, considering the reduced birth rates, a lack of qualified personnel is expected for the coming years in several areas. In view of this, the Western German Ministry of Science instigated a large scale study coordinated by the Bundesinstitut fur Berufsbildungforschung (Federal Institute for Research in Professional Education) to investigate the apprenticeship of girls in mechanical-technical occupations. The whole enterprise consisted of some twenty separate research programmes with different focal points. The principal thrust to our study was to analyse some of the personal determinants of success in role-discrepant occupations or occupational trainings. It is possible (though not easy) to regard this question as an empirical problem, largely independent of societal values.