The purpose of this study was to identify the gender representation and language use in 20 children's storybooks by Pratham books and Tulika publishers. Children begin to learn values and perspectives in the early years of their life. This learning about various aspects builds the foundations of how their ideas and views are shaped. Hence, reading…

Results of previous studies have demonstrated the prevalence of fear of success (FOS). Originally thought to be a gender-related construct pertaining to women, studies have also found FOS was experienced by men, sometimes even more so than by women. Recent researchers have attributed FOS more to the Bem Sex Role for individuals who are traditional…

Research over the past 25 years indicates that children's persistent stereotyping of career roles influences their career choices. The following eight independent variables are examined so as to understand secondary school students' occupational sex-role stereotyping (OSRS): (1) gender; (2) socioeconomic status of the parents; (3) mother's…

Using the "Checklist for Evaluating Sexism in Reading," an analysis was undertaken of the Ginn 360 series and the Ginn 720 series of basal readers for sex stereotypes and related language usage. The main characters and illustrations in approximately ten stories at each reading level were analyzed. Of the 116 stories examined, 49 featured…

Although developmental specialists have called for more male teachers in the fields of day care and early education, it is possible that parents with children in day care would be prejudiced against male day care workers. The work sample evaluation technique in which participants are asked to evaluate identical pieces of work was used in a study…

The present study examined the impact of an experience with adults in sex-role reversed occupations upon elementary school children's sex-stereotyped beliefs. Subjects were 68 children in first, third, and fifth grades from a parochial elementary school in San Leandro, California. The adult occupations test, a paper and pencil assessment…

This study was intended to negate or confirm the findings of prior studies conducted on the relationship between gender and reading preferences in high school students and to ascertain whether any changes have occurred that would reflect changing attitudes toward gender roles. Data were gathered by using a survey which was distributed to…

The present study investigated relationships between cognitive components of children's sex-role development and the bases of their attributions of sex-stereotypes to a particular gender. Specifically, it was predicted that the number of sex-stereotypes children correctly attributed would be significantly related to gender differences between the…

A study examined gender differences in reading attitudes among school age children. The hypothesis was that school age children in grades K-8 regard reading as a predominately feminine activity. Subjects were 269 students, grades K-8, from a low-income, urban school setting. Students completed Reading Attitude Surveys, modified from the Downing…

This report describes a program promoting gender equity in classroom participation to ensure the active engagement of all students. Targeted population consisted of eighth-grade health classes and ninth and tenth grade biology classes. Gender inequities in class participation were documented by behavioral checklists, anecdotal records, and student…

Two hundred ninety-nine stories from the 1974 and 1981 Houghton-Mifflin primary- and intermediate-level basal readers were analyzed to determine if there had been any changes in the ways males and females were portrayed. The data indicated that sex role stereotypes still exist in children's literature. Though there was an improvement in the number…

A study examined the effects of sex-typed content and sex role preference on 87 fifth grade boys' and 64 fifth grade girls' reading material preferences. It also explored how high- and low-rated sex-typed reading content and students' sex and sex role preferences influenced reading comprehension. After reading the sex-typed content, which…

A study (involving 100 children in grades 1-5) investigated whether children thought of reading as especially a male or female activity. Findings indicated that in grades 1-4, boys regarded reading as mostly a feminine activity, while in grade 5 boys regarded reading as mostly a masculine activity and girls regarded it as mostly a feminine…

Sex-role stereotypes have been defined as the constellation of psychological traits that characterize one sex more than another. This thesis investigates the role of eight independent variables--gender, classification of student, socioeconomic status of the parents, mother's employment outside the home, family structure, parental education level,…

A study compared the sex roles depicted in the 1963 Scott Foresman basal series with those of the 1978 series to determine if changes had occurred. A total of 172 stories from 16 readers were analyzed using the Checklist for Evaluating Sexism in Reading. Each story was examined for the number of times males and females were portrayed as main…