A Grounded Theory of Vocational Identity Development Among Female Technical Education Students in Nigeria

This study develops a grounded theory of vocational identity development among female students in technical education institutions in Nigeria. Vocational identity, the degree to which an individual internalises a vocational role as central to their self-concept, is a critical predictor of career commitment, programme persistence, and professional success. For women in Nigerian technical education, who navigate intersecting barriers of gender stereotyping, occupational stigma, and family expectations, vocational identity development follows complex pathways that existing theoretical models, largely developed in Western contexts, do not adequately capture. This study employs a constructivist grounded theory methodology, conducting theoretical sampling across multiple sites including technical colleges in Kano, Enugu, Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Maiduguri. In-depth interviews are conducted with 55 female technical students, 20 female technical graduates, 15 female technical teachers, and 10 family members, with continuous concurrent data collection and analysis. Constant comparative analysis, memo-writing, and theoretical saturation guide the emergent grounded theory. The resulting substantive theory articulates a process of vocational identity development with four core stages: identity negotiation, identity resistance, identity consolidation, and identity advocacy. The theory identifies critical incidents, social interactions, and institutional conditions that facilitate or impede each stage. Theoretical contributions extend vocational identity theory to the intersectional context of Nigerian technical education. Practical contributions include institutional interventions aligned with each identity development stage. Keywords: grounded theory, vocational identity, female students, technical education, Nigeria