event management courses girl power

EVENT MANAGEMENT COURSES: ‘GIRL POWER?’

Emma NOLAN & Hugues SERAPHIN

Emma NOLAN

Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer, Event Management

The University of Winchester

Emma.nolan@winchester.ac.uk

Hugues SERAPHIN

Lecturer, Event Management

The University of Winchester

Hugues.seraphin@winchester.ac.uk

EVENT MANAGEMENT COURSES: ‘GIRL

POWER?’

Introduction Literature reviewMethodsResults & DiscussionConclusion

STRUCTURE

Our main objective is to determine whether prospective students associate event management as a course with a particular gender and determine why male and female students choose

the course

INTRODUCTION

Event Management course at The University of Winchester:85% of the students – Female15% of the students - Male

For Francis (2000), some subjects are perceived by students as masculine or feminine domain

LITERATURE REVIEW (1)

Women are disproportionately underrepresented in science and engineering fields (Dick & Rallis, 1991; Leach, 1998)

LITERATURE REVIEW (2)

Motivation to study:

Intrinsic

Extrinsic

Strategic

LITERATURE REVIEW (3)

Sibson (2011), work on the choice of career paths of University students studying Event, Sport and Recreation Management is based on: Having enjoyable work, a variety of opportunities and pleasant working conditions are the most important factors.

His research was not gender orientated

HOWEVER, his sample was made of the 62 students of the course:65% female students35.6% male students

LITERATURE REVIEW (4)

Molesworth and Scullion (2005) , Bloxham and Boyd (2007) and McEvoy (2011) refer to ‘strategic learners’

Motivated by grades

LITERATURE REVIEW (5)

Molesworth and Scullion (2005) assert that students who choose to study vocational courses are more likely to be extrinsically motivated.

Mode of assessment on the course, location of the campus, and perception of a ‘fun’ degree will influence students decisions.

Employability will be the key motivation

LITERATURE REVIEW (6)

Adcroft’s (2009) study of Management degrees was contradictory.

Students of specific management courses will be motivated by a mix of extrinsic and intrinsic factors but overall intrinsic factors will have greater influence.

LITERATURE REVIEW (7)

METHODS Sample: Event Management

students atThe University of Winchester: 144

students Year 3: 55 studentsYear 2: 49 studentsYear 1: 40 students

Sample: Event Management students at

The University of Winchester: 144 students

Year 3: 55 studentsYear 2: 49 studentsYear 1: 40 students Questionnaire: 11 questions

Gender / Age / Level of study / Status / previous study / degrees and gender / Event Management and gender / discrepancy female & male in the course / explanation / Motivation

Questionnaire: 11 questionsGender / Age / Level of study /

Status / previous study / degrees and gender / Event Management and gender / discrepancy female & male in the course / explanation / Motivation

Analysis: SPSS Analysis: SPSS

98 students (68%) completed the questionnaire

=Reliable results

98 students (68%) completed the questionnaire

=Reliable results

RESULTS

Why do you think there is such an imbalance in the number of male/female students on your course?

   Gender Total

Male FemaleGirls are more organised 0 4 4It is all about wedding planning

1 8 9

Males are more attracted to other subjects (business, sport)

3 20 23

Higher ratio of females at Uni

3 13 16

Stereotypes (women are good at organising)

3 8 11

No explanation provided 2 18 20Event management not well known

2 6 8

More opportunities for women

1 0 1

Image of Winchester 0 2 2More females in the industry

0 1 1

Change of mentality - Women more prominent in the industry

0 1 1

Because males know the subject is dominated by female therefore chose something else

1 1 2

Total 16 82 98

1

2

Motivation – General Observations I chose the degree because… 19 factors (extrinsic, intrinsic, strategic

influences) Likert scale 1 (in no way like me), 7 (a lot like

me)

74% of the scores from females were 5 or over 68% of the scores from males were 5 or over

Mode answer from females – 6 Mode answer from males – 5

Strategic Learners

I thought I could get a good overall grade I liked the assessment patterns I felt that the title of the module sounded

interesting

I can get a better grade with this degree than with another males 81%, females 55%

I chose the course because:

I want to understand this subject in depth 87%

It looks challenging 67%

I want to understand this subject in depth 63%

It looks challenging 56%

Females Males

The most important factor:

I want to be an event manager 18%

Career prospects/graduate level job/interesting subject

I want to study a practical subject 27%

Fun degree/career prospects/interesting subject

Females Males

Sample:

Only data from Event Management students at The University of Winchester were used

HOWEVER,

We know that in other universities, there are more females in the Event Management courses.

NEXT STEP, Extend the study to other universities Compare gender in courses to gender in the industry

LIMITATIONS OF FINDINGS

• Both male and female students are influenced by a mix of intrinsic and extrinsic factors

• Female students are more likely to be influenced by intrinsic factors

• Male students are more likely to make strategic decisions• Female students have a clearer view on what career path

they intend to follow• Male students are more interested in the practical nature

of the course

CONCLUSION

Adcroft, A. (2009) The Motivations to Study of Undergraduate Students in Management: The impact of degree programme and level of study . International Journal of Management Education, 9 (1), 2010Bloxham,S & Boyd, P. (2007) Developing Effective Assessment in Higher Education. Maidenhead: Open University PressDick, T.P. & Rallis, S.F. (1991) Factors and influences on high school students’ career choices, Journal of Research in Mathematics Education, 22 (4), 281-292Francis, B. (2000) The gendered subject: Students’ subject preferences and discussions of gender and subject ability, Oxford Review of Education, 26 (1), 35-48 Leach, F. (1998) Gender, education and training, Gender and Development, 6 (2), 9-18McEvoy, G. (2011) Increasing Intrinsic Motivation to Learn in Organizational Behaviour Classes. Journal of Management Education, 35:468Molesworth, . & Scullion, R. (2005) The Impact of Commercially Promoted Vocational Degrees on the Student Experience, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 27 (2), 209-225Sibson, R. (2011) Career choice perceptions of undergraduate event, sport and recreation management students: An Australian case study, Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, 10 (2), 50-60

REFERENCES

EVENT MANAGEMENT COURSES: ‘GIRL POWER?’

Emma NOLAN & Hugues SERAPHIN

ANY QUESTIONS?