Gender-based influences on students’ choices for computing disciplines in Sri Lankan fee-levying higher education institutes

Abstract

The global higher education (HE) sector has emerged competitive and market-driven in recent years due to the proliferation of fee-levying higher education institutes (HEIs). Consequently, researchers seek to identify the key factors influencing students’ HEI choices to help education administrators develop strategies matching student expectations. However, it is insufficient to determine the important criteria because they differ depending on the degree major and student demographics like gender.  Sri Lanka’s HE sector is no exception, yet limited research has been conducted. Therefore, this study aimed to identify whether gender affects the major factors motivating students’ decisions to enroll in an undergraduate programme in a computing discipline in Sri Lanka. The study considered  the following three key factors: students’ internal characteristics, institute-related characteristics, and communication channels used by HEIs to disseminate information while 16 sub-factors were also considered. A quantitative approach was used and data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 510 undergraduates across eight HEIs in the country. Data were analysed using SPSS software. The results revealed that the influence of institute-related characteristics and communication channels varied by gender whereas gender had no impact on students’ internal characteristics.Only three of the 16 subfactors were found to differ by gender indicating that gender had no noticeable impact on most of the elements. Academic  administrators may find these research findings useful when developing segmented marketing strategies to maximise student enrolment.