Examination of Primary School 4th Grade Students' Perspectives on Gender Statements


Kocaman B., Karakuş M.

THE NINTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION, İzmir, Turkey, 4 - 06 November 2021, pp.105-106

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Summary Text
  • City: İzmir
  • Country: Turkey
  • Page Numbers: pp.105-106
  • Çukurova University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

There are defined roles for men and women in society. With these roles, the behaviors of men and women are shaped by the roles envisaged by the society as a part of the society they live in. These roles are also effective in the formation of gender identities in children. The concept of gender has an important place in human life from the first years of life. There are some characteristics attributed to men and women in society. Women; like doing housework, men going to work and making money. These ideas are accepted in almost every society. Can a person really be interested in cars or math just because he's a man and a woman is naturally better at cooking? Or are men genetically less likely to care for children than women? In fact, just looking at the society and the change of gender roles over time is enough to show that these roles are not innate differences, but are related to the socialized environment and the society in which they live, and are therefore open to change. (Korkmaz, 2014). In the socialization process, from every element around the individual; family, school, mass media, friend groups, etc. As a result of her interaction with herself, she begins to adopt gender roles. In addition to all these factors, while social roles are reinforced through education, the school environment has a critical role in the construction of gender. When schools are thought of as a simulation of society, schools can be seen as places where these roles are taught by society. Students are directly or indirectly affected by everything from the games played in the schools to the materials used, from the seating arrangement to the responsibilities expected from the students. Textbooks, student and teacher attitudes, family members and most of the social elements. This traditional point of view continues to be passed on from generation to generation through textbooks, mass media, language, teacher attitudes and parent attitudes. Studies in the field of education show that students and teachers carry this traditional attitude to the next generations. In societies where gender equality and traditional attitudes do not exist; Problems such as gender inequality in education, violence against women, and exclusion of girls from education constitute major problems. Institutions, textbooks, schools, family and parents in the society enable and assist the transfer and reinforcement of all these stereotypes and gender roles. Methodology This research, which aims to examine the perspectives of primary school 4th grade students on gender-based stereotypes, is a descriptive study designed according to the qualitative method. In the research, the students' perspectives on gender were tried to be described qualitatively. “Gender Perception Form (TCAF)” was used as a measurement tool in the research. TCAF, which includes the scenarios prepared for the research, was applied to a total of 38 children, 15 of whom were studying in private schools and 23 of them studying in public schools, in the central districts of Adana province. In the study, descriptive analysis and content analysis were used in the analysis of qualitative data obtained using TCAF. Content analysis was performed for the data obtained from TCAF. The answers given by the students for this; They were grouped into small information boxes, considering features such as how often the words they wrote were used, the words that summarized the answer they wanted to give, and a coherent summary of what they wrote. These groups were tried to be formed based on the expressions that best described the answers given by the students to the questions about the scenario. Results / Expected Outcomes As a result of the research, students who applied TCAF, which includes 8 scenarios related to the themes; It has been determined that they are against gender discrimination in the professional sense and they want girls and boys to be free in choosing a profession. It has been determined that there are many students who accept gender discrimination in career choice. Students have a positive perception of gender stereotypes about roles, status and social life. Some students are confused about this. Therefore, it was concluded that students with this understanding tend to balance more on gender discrimination. In terms of gender, students' perspectives on gender stereotypes are close and similar. In terms of school type, students in public schools are slightly more sensitive than private schools. As a result of the research, it was seen that most of the primary school fourth grade students' perspectives on gender stereotypes in the context of profession, role and status and social life were close to the expected level. However, there are also students whose perceptions on this subject can be interpreted as negative. While preparing training programs on these issues, more sensitive behaviors can be made and students can be trained to improve their awareness.