Teachers' perceptions of gender differences in child aggression
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether or not teachers perceived the same aggressive behaviors of boys and girls differently. Gender differences have been found in girls' and boys' use of physical and indirect aggression. If it is assumed that boys and girls learn to use different aggressive strategies through the process of socialization, then a first step to understanding this socialization process is understanding how adults perceive such behavior. In the present study, teachers were presented with a series of vignettes depicting girls and boys behaving in physically, verbally, and indirectly aggressive ways. Teachers were asked to rate the aggressiveness and appropriateness of these behaviors, as well as rate their likelihood of intervening with students who behaved aggressively. Teachers' ratings indicated that they rated the aggressiveness of indirectly aggressive behaviors differently for boys and girls, and that they were likely to respond differently to physically, verbally, and indirectly aggressive behaviors of girls and boys. In addition, analyses revealed differences in teachers' ratings based on the grade a teacher taught, teacher gender, teacher ethnicity, and the number of years a teacher had been teaching.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Gruen, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Psychotherapy|Developmental psychology|Educational psychology|Social psychology|Minority & ethnic groups|Sociology
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