Gender Influence on Functional and Psychosocial Competencies Development in Architectural Internships

Abstract

Architectural internship is expected to facilitate the development of both functional and psychosocial competencies required for professional practice. However, evidence remains limited on whether competency development during internship differs by gender, particularly within the Nigerian system. The study examined the relationship between gender and exposure to functional competency domains, as well as psychosocial competency development, among undergraduate architecture students during internship. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted involving 263 architecture students from nine universities in Southwest Nigeria. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire based on a competency framework comprising four functional and three psychosocial competency domains. Descriptive statistics, including the Relative Exposure Index (REI) and Relative Development Index (RDI) analysed competency levels, while independent-samples t-tests examined gender differences. Both male and female students reported moderate exposure across all functional competency domains and high levels of psychosocial competency development. Construction Technology and Material Knowledge recorded the highest functional competency exposure, while Practice Management ranked lowest. Intrapersonal competency recorded the highest psychosocial development for both groups. Although male students reported marginally higher composite scores than female students, no statistically significant gender differences were found in functional competency exposure (t = 1.083, p = 0.280) or psychosocial competency development (t = 0.896, p = 0.371). The findings indicate that gender is not a significant determinant of functional or psychosocial competency development during undergraduate architectural internships. The study provides empirical evidence supporting gender equity in architectural internship outcomes and informs the design of competency-based internship programmes.