Nonfiction

The Effects of Teaching & Discussing Gender in High School Social Studies on Student Perceptions of Gender

Publication Date: April 22, 2013  

Masters Thesis - Quinnipiac University 2013

Abstract

Through a combination of prior literature and scholarly research on the topic and my own personal action research at a high school in suburban Connecticut, I aim to determine what effect teaching and discussions of gender in Social Studies classes have on students’ perceptions of gender (basic concepts as well as gender roles and relations).  The prior literature on the matter that has been researched includes investigations of the efficacy of specific gender studies classes in high school, as well as social studies classes that include a gender lens in their curriculum. In addition to course-specific inquiry, one prior study examined how gender was being represented school-wide outside the classroom and the impact it had on students. An amalgam of these studies provides a launching point for further investigation and what I extrapolate from my own research, I hope, will help draw some conclusions about how gender is taught in secondary education.