Examining the Interaction Effects of Gender and Programs of Study on the Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching Students' Attitude Towards Teaching Profession of Mekelle University, Ethiopia

The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction effects of gender and programs of study on attitudes of
postgraduate diploma in teaching (PGDT) students towards the teaching profession. The main aim of the study
was to find out whether there are any significant interaction effects of gender and programs of study of PGDT
students’ attitude towards the teaching profession. A descriptive survey was carried out among PGDT students
during the year 2016/2017 regular session with a population of 371 students. The survey was conducted between
science and non-science students in the department of teacher education at Mekelle University, Ethiopia. Using
a stratified random sampling method, 130 student-teachers were selected as samples for the study. A scale entitled
“attitude towards teaching profession” was developed and validated by the researchers based on established
procedures in the literature (Aliyu Musa and Ado Abdu Bichi, 2015). A scale contained 15 items to be scored on
the five-point Likert scale as Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Neutral(N), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree
(SD) was used. The data analysis of descriptive statistics through quantitative analysis by computing SPSS 16.0
(Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) for Windows 10 was employed. Statistical techniques which include
percentage analysis for levels, mean, standard deviation, and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were also
used for data analysis and interpretation. The findings of the two-way ANOVA demonstrated that there are no
significant interaction effects of gender and programs of study on attitude towards the teaching profession of
PGDT students. Correlation analysis of gender and programs of a study indicated that the student teachers’
attitude towards the teaching profession was positively related to gender and programs of study.