Gender Socialization among Secondary School Students: A Quantitative Study

Abstract: Gender socialization is an essential developmental process for young people to become gendered individuals, learning roles, behaviors and expectations that are deemed appropriate for their gender. Although perceptions of gender equality seem to be changing, traditional gender roles influence the attitude and behavior of students, especially in a more conservative socio-cultural environment. This research was designed to explore gender socialization trends of high school students and to compare gender and locale differences. A descriptive quantitative survey design was utilized. The sample comprised 100 secondary school pupils, 50 boys and 50 girls, randomly selected from rural and urban schools. Data was obtained through the standardized Gender Socialization Scale which assesses parental, school, peer and media pressures. The analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation and independent t-test. The findings indicated a substantial gender socialization, with peer and media as the most prevailing. Significant differences emerged between boys and girls and between rural and urban students and all dimensions were positively correlated, suggesting that gender socialization is a cumulative and multi-source process