Factors that Affect the Retention of Female Apprentices
Date
2015-04-24
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Abstract
The purpose of this study is to help uncover reasons for women’s low participation rates in the field of skilled trades and apprenticeship in Canada. This thesis analyzes data gained through life history interviews with six recently graduated female apprentices, with the objective being to gain their insights on which experiences and factors may have helped contribute to their successes. This thesis offers an analysis of apprenticeship as a gendered space and process of work-related learning. Framed by concepts developed by Pierre Bourdieu, the findings suggest that the structure of the field of skilled trades and apprenticeship acts to reproduce gender through expected, or “taken-for-granted” characteristics of successful apprentices. The findings also depict skilled trades and apprenticeship as a field dominated by men and masculinity, but one in which the female apprentice can successfully practice by exhibiting a culturally-appropriate vocational habitus while maximizing field-specific capitals.
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Education--Sociology of
Citation
Skulmoski, L. K. (2015). Factors that Affect the Retention of Female Apprentices (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26153