ERIC Number: ED224746
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1982-Nov
Pages: 14
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Gender Fair Curricular Materials and Pupil Learning.
Scott, Kathryn P.
Main characters were portrayed in nontraditional roles in stories presented to 4th, 7th, and 11th grade students. A total of 172 students read a set of four stories, each of which had two versions, one with a male main character and one with a female main character. Thus, the same stories were used to depict traditional and nontraditional sex roles. Students were asked who they thought could do what the main character did in the story. Responses ranged from only boys, mostly boys, same number of each sex, mostly girls, only girls. Students also completed a questionnaire to assess sex role perceptions, evaluated the stories, and were tested for comprehension and recall. Results indicated that exposure to male as well as female main characters engaged in nontraditional activities increased students' perceptions of the number of males and females who can participate in these activities. When students read about a male taking care of a baby, for example, they were most likely to think that males could and should take care of babies. The lack of differences among age groups was not significant. Therefore, the use of gender fair materials can expand knowledge about sex roles without diminishing interest in reading. (KC)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Council for the Social Studies (Boston, MA, November, 1982). This research was funded in part by the Florida State University, SRAD Program.