Abstract This paper provides early findings from a research study undertaken in 2013 in a number of Queensland high schools. The study examines some factors that could heighten the participation of female students in technology education classes, and focused on female students in senior secondary schools. The research design used an ethnographic case-study methodology. This design allowed the research to unpack a credible, rigorous and authentic story of female students' involvement in different design and technology contexts across different schools. The study was intended to give a voice to female students in order to understand the nature of their involvement in design and technology subjects. The researcher was seeking to understand the reasons why female students had undertaken courses in design and technology education, and explored the realities of each classroom environment. The culture sharing group was identified as Year 11 girls participating in the early stages of technology education courses. Field data was collected in an authentic setting and included audio recordings of language and interactions. Recordings of interviews with students and adults were made. Both situations were designed to allow for the use of verbatim quotations and thick descriptions of the context and events in order to understand and unpack the female voices in the study. Artefacts became a key component of the discussions. Triangulation of the data in the research design aimed to overcome any research bias and allowed the researcher to more fully understand the social and cultural scene. The study investigated such aspects as the social construction of reality, the nature of teaching and learning in context, the values that motivate participants and the ecology of the learning environments from a gendered perspective.