The influence of gender-role stereotypes on students’ attitudes and performance in history and government: a case of secondary schools in Bungoma-East district, Kenya

Abstract

This study examined the influence of gender-role stereotypes on students‟ attitudes and performance in History and Government. It specifically sought to establish the relationship between gender role stereotypes and students‟ attitudes, the relationship between form four girls‟ and boys‟ attitudes and finding out the mean difference between form four girls‟ and boys‟ performance in History and Government Continuous Assessment Tests. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to collect data in Bungoma-East district. 250 form four students taking History and Government for examination from the sampled schools participated by filling a five-scale likert questionnaire. Their performance records were also studied to check their performance in the three consecutive internal examinations they had done. Statistical tests including chi square, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, and Spearman‟s Rank Correlation were used to test the study hypotheses. Results on this study indicated that there is no relationship between gender role stereotypes and the students‟ attitudes towards History and Government. There is also no correlation between the students‟ attitudes towards the subject and their performance in it; and finally, there was a small negative correlation between girls‟ and boys‟ performance in studying History and Government courses. This study is important as it will enable both male and female students to acquire and develop positive attitudes towards History and Government, thereby improving their performance in the same. As teachers become aware of the attitudes of their students, they may be able to focus on their causes, effects and consequences, hence address them in their teaching