Gender role attitudes among Nigerian students : egalitarian or traditional?
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Authors
Ifechukwu, Victoria
Issue Date
2013
Degree
BA (Hons) in Social Science
Publisher
Dublin Business School
Rights holder
Rights
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Abstract
Expanding research acknowledged that men and women are shaped by society in that their perceptions of whom they are and how they behave is not solely because of an individual. This study looks at how society influences the process of our gender identity and how it dictates the role we are expected to play according to our gender. This research was conducted for the purpose of developing a scaling tool to determine the attitudes of Nigerian college students towards gender roles. College student’s attitudes should first be determined in order to change this traditional view to gender and to achieve a more egalitarian view. Quasi-experimental design was used for this study; the research sample was comprised of one college’s students chosen using size-proportional stratified random sampling method. A total of 100 students (44 males and 56 females) were included in the sample. Data collected was via self-administered questionnaires. The Gender Roles Attitude Scale (GRAS) contains eight items (Traditional gender roles) which was used to gather results filled in by the participants. Statistical significant differences were determined among all survey items. The results findings that were obtained showed that the survey is a valid and reliable instrument for determining college students’ attitudes towards gender role. The results indicated that Nigerian female students studying in Ireland had more egalitarian gender role attitudes than the male respondents and there was no significant difference between female students’ hours of work and that of the male students. In conclusion, these results suggest that both culture and society is a factor in changing people’s gender role attitudes or that education facilitates this change.