Understanding the college community: fostering female student success at a Canadian technical college in Qatar

Abstract

Female students at a Canadian technical college in Qatar are minimally accessing cocurricular activities. As a result, they were limited in their ability to develop transferrable skills. This quantitative and qualitative study investigated whether correlations existed between grade point average, participation in co-curricular activities and overall perceptions of the college experience. The study took place at this mixed-gender technical college. By applying critical feminist theory, it also investigated barriers to, and developed recommendations for, increasing engagement. It consisted of two phases: an online survey and one-on-one interviews. With a survey sample size of n=30, positive correlations were identified between GPA and both rate of engagement and perception of college experience. The study found that positive perceptions of experience and engagement were not correlated. It was noted that time constraints and feeling selfconscious were barriers and participants recommended that co-curricular engagement be more accessible and linked to the curriculum.