Date of Award

8-1-1986

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching & Learning

Abstract

Statement of the Problem: This study examined the extent of sex role stereotyping of occupations and the prestige assigned to those occupations by North Dakota high school seniors.

Procedures: A questionnaire containing demographic variables and a list of 35 occupations was developed with input from a panel of experts. Students then rated the appropriateness of occupations for females and males and the level of prestige assigned to male and female workers in the same occupation.

After a pilot study was completed, questionnaires were sent to 32 schools in North Dakota and completed by seniors enrolled in any course required for graduation. A total of 1,050 questionnaires were completed and returned during the second semester of the 1985-86 academic year; 1,043 of these were usable.

Responses were keyed into a computer base for analysis using subprograms of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Pearson product-moment correlation, frequencies, Student's t, and twoway analysis of variance were used to analyze the data.

Findings: These findings were based on the responses of 1,043 North Dakota high school seniors. 1. There were significant differences at the .05 level in the way female and male students rated the appropriateness of occupations. However, these differences diminished when the means were ranked from most appropriate for males to most appropriate for females. This ranking produced vary similar results by female and male- students. 2. Male and female students rated welder, farmer, and automobile mechanic as most appropriate for males and dressmaker, sewing machine operator, cosmetologist, and child care worker as most appropriate for females. No female-dominated occupations were rated appropriate for males, and no male-dominated occupations were rated appropriate for females. 3. Occupation and education of parents, racial/ethnic background, population of area/town/city, and religious affiliation contributed to significance in rating appropriateness of occupations. 4. There were significant differences at the .05 level in prestige assigned to male and female workers. 5. Males received the greatest prestige as physician, electrical engineer, airplane pilot, police officer, computer programmer, and computer operator. Females received the greatest prestige as physician and registered nurse.

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