The Effects of a Feminist Pedagogical Activity on The

THE EFFECTS OF A FEMINIST PEDAGOGICAL ACTIVITY ON THE

DEVELOPMENT OF FEMINIST IDENTITY IN GIRLS AGES 8 TO 12

______

A Thesis

Presented

to the Faculty of

California State University, Chico

______

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Arts

Psychology ______

Spring 2019 THE EFFECTS OF A FEMINIST PEDAGOGICAL ACTIVITY ON THE FEMINIST

IDENTITY OF GIRLS AGES 8 TO 12

A Thesis

Kristin Vierra

Spring 2019

APPROVED BY THE INTERIMACTING DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES:

______Sharon Barrios, Ph.D.

APPROVED BY THE GRADUATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE:

______Linda Kline, Ph.D., Chair

______Marie Lippmann, Ph.D.

PUBLICATION RIGHTS

No portion of this thesis may be reprinted or reproduced in any manner unacceptable to the usual copyright restrictions without the written permission of the author.

iii

DEDICATION

I would like to dedicate this thesis to my family. Without my family, I would have never had the chance to follow my dreams and excel in my academics. In addition, I would like

to dedicate this thesis to my beloved cat, Emma. Emma filled my life with joy and

unconditional love. I love you and I miss you.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my academic mentor, Dr. Kline.

Dr. Kline has proved to be an excellent mentor. Working with Dr. Kline meant I had exceptional academic and emotional guidance. Throughout my graduate school experience, it was comforting knowing that I could always rely on Dr. Kline to support me. Not only did she provide me with excellent guidance and support, but she also believed in me every step of the way. She was positive and kind, allowing me to feel validated as a graduate student. I will never be able to thank her enough for her mentorship. Dr. Kline is a special individual who deserves the upmost positive regard.

I would also like to thank my committee member, Dr. Lippmann. Dr. Lippmann stood as a wonderful resource. Each time I visited Dr. Lippmann for advice, she went above and beyond to ensure I received the guidance I needed. Without Dr. Lippmann on my committee, this research study would not hold such a detailed literature review.

I would like to thank my family for the continuing support during my academic career. My family was supportive and believed in me every step of the way. No matter the time or resources, my family made sure I had everything I needed to be successful in graduate school.

I would like to thank my partner, Chris, for his continued support. Chris made sure, on a daily biases, that I was taken care of. Most importantly, Chris reminded me to take breaks and enjoy life to the fullest.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

Publication Rights ...... iii

Dedication ...... iv

Acknowledgements ...... v

List of Tables ...... viii

Abstract ...... ix

CHAPTER

I. Introduction ...... 1

Background ...... 1 Statement of the Problem ...... 3 Purpose of the Study ...... 4 Definition of Terms ...... 5 Limitations of the Study ...... 7

II. Literature Review ...... 9

Introduction ...... 9 Perceptions of Feminism ...... 10 Feminist Identity Development ...... 11 Identity Development ...... 13 Ethnic Identity Development in Youth Children ...... 19 Feminist Pedagogy …………………………………………...... 21 Boys and Girls Club …………………………………………….. 28 Conclusion …………………………………………………….. 28

III. Methodology ...... 31

Design of the Investigation ……………………………………… 31 Participants ...... 31 Instruments ...... 32 Treatment …………………………………………………………. 33

CHAPTER PAGE

IV. Findings and Results ……………………………………………………….. 35 Feminist Identity Development Scale ...... 35 Feminist Pedagogy and Feminist Identity ...... 35 Participant Age ...... 36 Self-Concept ...... 36 Discussion ...... 41

V. Conclusions and Recommendations ...... 45

Conclusions ...... 45 Recommendations ...... 46

References ...... 50

vii

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE PAGE

1. “Being a Girl means I…” Short Answer Responses (Exp. Group) ………… 37

2. “Being a Girl means I…” Short Answer Responses (Con. Group) ………… 37

3. “Being a Girl means I feel…” Short Answer Responses (Exp. Group) ……. 38

4. “Being a Girl means I feel…” Short Answer Responses (Con. Group) ……. 38

5. “Being a Girl means I believe…” Short Answer Responses (Exp. Group) …. 39

6. “Being a Girl means I believe…” Short Answer Responses (Con. Group) …. 40

viii

ABSTRACT

THE EFFECTS OF A FEMINIST PEDAGOGICAL ACTIVITY ON THE

DEVELOPMENT OF FEMINIST IDENTITY IN GIRLS AGES 8 TO 12

Master of Arts in Psychological Sciences

California State University, Chico

Spring 2019

Previous research has explored feminist identity in college-aged women but not younger age groups (Alexander & Ryan, 1997; Manago, Brown, & Leaper, 2009) It is not known whether feminist identity can begin to develop in childhood if encouraged at a young age. Additionally, research has yet to measure whether exposure to a feminist pedagogical activity can increase the feminist identity development of young girls. All girls of appropriate age from local Boys and Girls Clubs were invited to participate.

Fifteen girls from The Boys and Girls Club participated. This study used a quasi- experimental design to examine if girls who participated in a feminist pedagogical activity had greater feminist identity than girls who did not participate in the activity.

The independent variable was the activity in which girls participated and the dependent variable was participant feminist identity. Researchers supplied girls with an adapted version of The Feminist Identity Development Scale (Bargad & Hyde, 1991) and an adapted version of a self-concept scale. It was predicted that girls who participated in the

feminist pedagogical activity would have greater development of feminist identity than girls who did not participate. Results did not support the hypothesis. Feminist identity was not different in the experimental and control groups, but was strong, overall. Further research is suggested to enhance our understanding of feminist identity development and to study the creation of feminist pedagogical activities to enhance feminist identity.

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background

Feminism has long been practiced by many individuals from multiple generations, cultures, and ethnicities. The goal and direction of each feminist movement have always varied depending on the generation and modern social controversies. For example, the movement to earn women the right to vote was a result of such social controversies.

Feminism must always reshape and mold the message to endorse modern societal discriminations (Alexander & Ryan, 1997). Considering this, grounding a final definition of feminism is difficult. One possible definition is that feminism holds the essential idea that women are important and should be seen as equal to men. In other words, women’s needs and ideas should be seen as equal to men’s needs and ideas. Feminists also consider that the needs and ideas of political, economic and social realities (Stewart &

Dottolo, 2006). Feminists are knowledgeable and attentive to the injustices women face in today’s global society (Jackson, Fleury & Lewandowski, 1996). For feminists, it can be difficult to turn a blind eye to instances of inequality. Individuals who identify as feminist address social injustices in varying fashions. Feminists express their beliefs in differing ways such as labeling oneself as a feminist, endorsing feminist values, and or working for social change through forms of critical action (Nelson et al., 2008). While feminists often express their beliefs in differing ways, a majority of feminists share a common ideology (Polletta & Jasper, 2001).

The expression of feminist beliefs varies from one individual to the next.

However, the beliefs or ideas that are vital for one to title him or herself a feminist must

be addressed. Feminists often share a common ideology with the feminist community

(Polletta & Jasper, 2001). Namely, a consciousness of society’s traditional gender discriminations and openness to coming together with others to oppose discrimination

(Downing & Roush, 1985). This ideology leads to exploration of the prediction of feminist identification. Research has found personal elements that anticipate one’s identification with the feminist movement. The single greatest predictor was the belief that society’s gender roles, which affect how one is viewed based on their gender, are problematic and unacceptable (Aronson, 2003). Another feminist value or ideology includes allowing all voices to be heard.

A strong value of the feminist movement is allowing all individuals to have their voices heard, even if these voices contradict one’s own beliefs. Feminists avoid silencing individuals and inspire for free speech. Feminists also value different points of view, respect individuals, all while collaborating with others (Foss et al., 1999). Educators who hold these feminist values respond to biased speech by opening the bias statement to a group discussion, and respectfully responding (Kimmel & Worell, 1997). If an educator does not respond in a respectful manner, students may feel silenced and thus the environment of free speech would be demolished. To examine the feminist value of free speech, Bay-Cheng, Lewis, Stewart, and Malley (2006) conducted a study examining the effectiveness of a feminist empowerment program for young girls. This empowerment program was put into place to combat an unfortunate stereotype of young adolescence.

This stereotype displays young girls as chatty and regularly talking and gossiping. To avoid being label with this stereotype, adolescent girls will withdrawal from conversation and avoid speaking their minds. Within this study, it was found that program staff

debased the ultimate goal of this program by disciplining participants’ voices. If participants spoke of a matter that did not correlate with feminist values, participants were silenced. Potentially, the facilitators of the empowerment program failed to understand feminism. Had facilitators held a faulty definition of feminism, the goal to instill feminist values among participants may have been missed. Additionally, researchers did not control for confounding variables such as participants’ social economic status, race, and or quality of relationships with the empowerment program facilitators. The results of this investigation warn programs aiming to empower young girls to avoid silencing voices, even if individuals speak of topics that do not correlate with feminist values. Studies have illustrated that when adolescent girls do decide to speak, they are often ignored, teased, or penalized by peers and adults (Sullivan, 1996).

Statement of the Problem

This study seeks to determine the effects of a feminist pedagogical activity on the development of feminist identity of young girls. To begin, researchers have yet to explore how young girls develop feminist identities or what the development of feminist identity looks like in young girls. Many programs created for young girls are motivated to increase the development of feminist identity in young girls. However, these programs have no empirical understanding of how young girls develop feminist identities.

Additionally, programs often use feminist pedagogical instruction as a method to increase the development of feminist identity. However, research has yet to measure the effectiveness of implicating a feminist pedagogical activity. Without research to measure the effectiveness of feminist pedagogical instruction, it is unclear whether implicating

feminist pedagogy into a learning environment truly strengthens the development of feminist identity in participants.

The present study was designed to investigate whether applying a feminist pedagogical activity would strengthen the development of feminist identity. If the feminist pedagogical activity does strengthen the feminist identity of young girls, the findings could be shared with advising programs to adopt or continue to use appropriate activities to strengthen the feminist identity of young girls.

Purpose of the Study

This research project was aimed at comparing young girls’ feminist identity scores based on whether they are placed in a feminist pedagogical activity group or not.

Feminist identity can be defined as an individual’s degree to which they recognize sexism and identify as a feminist (Downing & Roush, 1985). Feminist pedagogy is best described as a collective laboratory in which students and activity leaders work together to analyze the theory of women’s experiences (Kimmel & Worell, 1997). It was predicted that participants placed in a feminist pedagogical activity would have greater development of feminist identity than participants who were not placed in the activity.

Furthermore, researchers compared the feminist identity scores of each age to examine if there were differences in feminist identity development. It was predicted that younger participants would display a greater development of feminist identity than older participants. This study used a quasi-experimental design. The experimental group received the feminist pedagogical activity and the control group did not. To measure the feminist identity development of young girls, an adapted version of the Feminist Identity

Development Scale (Bargad & Hyde, 1991) was used. This research is important as there has been many studies exploring the feminist identity development of adult age women, however, there has yet to be research measuring the feminist identity development of young girls. Research measuring how a feminist pedagogical style of teaching can affect the feminist identity development of individuals has yet to be conducted.

Definition of Terms

Identity Development- a key portion of human advancement and growth (Mclean, Syed,

Yoder, & Greenhoot, 2016). To experience the process of identity development, individuals mediate, analyze, and adjust one’s beliefs and or life objectives, within a given life stage.

Feminist Identity Development-the process in which individuals reflect on their own values and begin to acknowledge the discrimination of women (Yakushko, 2007). The development of a strong feminist identity occurs in five stages from low levels of awareness of prejudice of sexism and gender inequality towards complete consciousness.

Gender Identity Development an intricate, psychological construct that mirrors how individuals associate with both gender groups (Martin, Andrews, England, Zosuls, and

Ruble, 2017).

Ethnic Identity Development- the degree in which an individual acknowledges his or her race to be an influential aspect of his or herself-concept (Sellers et al., 1998).

Feminism- the essential idea that women are important and should be seen as equal to needs and ideas of men. In other words, women’s needs and ideas should be seen as equal to men’s needs and ideas (Crawford, 2006).

Feminist Pedagogy- is best described as a collective laboratory in which students and professors work together to unravel, interpret, decode research and analyze the theory of women’s experiences (Kimmel & Worell, 1997).

Limitations of the Study

As with any study, there are limitations to the current study. First, the study consisted of a sample size of 15 participants. It must be noted that majority of participants were recruited from Paradise and Magalia, California. Just a few days after data collection began, the Camp fire occurred. This limited sample size may not be large enough to represent the entire population of female Boys and Girls Club members. Had this study recruited a larger sample size, results may have been different. This limited sample size also held one thing in common, each participant had received parental permission. Due to the fact that participants required parental permission to complete the adapted survey, one could question whether there is a difference between girls who did receive parental permission and girls who did not.

The current study measured the feminist identity of young girls who were members of an organization that values skills such as independence, leadership, and confidence. However, girls who are not members of an organization were not represented in this study.

Data was collected using a new scale that was an adaptation of the feminist identity development scale for college students. The reliability and validity of the new scale is unknown. A new feminist pedagogical activity was created for this study. While the activity possess face validity, it could be that feminist pedagogical activity does not reflect the goals and values of feminist pedagogy.

Data was collected across several different Boys and Girls Clubs and one must consider the variably between locations. Some locations provided researchers and

participants with quiet areas with little distraction. However, some locations provided researchers and participants space with a great amount of noise and distractions. In some conditions, data collection was conducted outside due to lack of space within facilities.

While this is a natural and uncontrollable element of this research design, it is important to highlight that the varying conditions could influence the responses of participants.

CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

This study investigates how feminist pedagogical instruction can influence the feminist identity development of young girls ages eight to twelve years. Research has never been conducted to examine how feminist pedagogical instruction can affect the feminist identity development of any age. Furthermore, previous research has explored feminist identity in college-aged women but not younger age groups. For example, researchers explored the feminist identity of Latina adolescents (Manago, Brown, &

Leaper, 2009). Results indicated that many Latina adolescents identify with feminist goals. This study used a feminist pedagogical manipulation to explore the impact of the manipulation on feminist identity of participants.

To conduct this study, female Boys and Girls club members ranging in ages of eight to twelve were recruited. This age period was chosen as it is a period of exploration and open-mindedness (Berk, 2016). A study conducted by Trautner et al (2005) found that children ages five to seven hold very ridge views of gender stereotypes but by the time children reached the age of seven years old, their views of gender roles became significantly more fluid. Participants were selected from the Boys and Girls clubs because a large and diverse sample could be collected.

The purpose of this study was to measure how a feminist pedagogical activity influences the development of feminist identity in young girls. The literature review begins with a discussion of perceptions of feminism. It is important to begin with this information to ensure that readers have a basic foundation or understanding of the term,

feminism. A review of feminist identity development will illustrate the process in which adult-aged individuals develop feminist identities. Theories of identity development explain how individuals develop identities and how societal gender roles influence the development of identities. Ethnic identity development in young children highlights research conducted to understand how young children develop ethnic identities. This section is provides a basis for considering the development of identities in young children. Feminist pedagogy is discussed to provide the goals and structure of feminist pedagogy. The literature review concludes with a description of the boys and girls club, to provide an understanding of the organization from which the participants were recruited.

Perceptions of Feminism

There are many misconceptions and stereotypes when it comes to defining feminism. For example, some individuals may state that women who identify with the feminist movement are boycotting motherhood (Dillaway & Paré, 2008) and or dislike men (Anderson, Kanner, & Elsayegh, 2009). These misconceptions are alarming as they may discourage women and men from identifying with the feminist movement. However, it is important that women and men identify as feminists because research has indicated that there are many positive aspects of developing a strong feminist identity. While both women and men have advantages of developing a feminist identity, the present study focuses on the development of feminist identity in females. Feminism gives individuals the chance to recognize the impact of the male-dominated society and learn to comprehend what healthy social behaviors look like. The recognition of a male dominated society also allows individuals to feel empowered and gain personal freedom

in choosing healthy lifestyle activities (Prochaska & Norcross, 1999). Other examples of positive outcomes are sexual empowerment, efficient tactics to handle the stressors when encountered with sexism (Crawford, 2006), and decreased the likelihood of an individual developing depression (Saunder & Kashubeck, 2006). Further benefits of identifying as a feminist are development of a positive personal identity (Manago, Brown, & Leaper,

2009), more positive gendered self-esteem (Burn, Aboud, & Moyles, 2000), and decreased instances of disordered eating (Sabik & Tylka, 2006). Feminism has potential to bring so many positive aspects to the lives of women, making it a necessary movement to reverse gender inequalities. Understanding that feminism has the potential to better the lives of women, it is important to understand how women develop a feminist identity.

Feminist Identity Development

Development of a strong feminist identity, likely follows the process of identity development (Moradi, Subich, & Phillips, 2002). Identity development can be thought of as a key portion of human advancement and growth (Mclean, Syed, Yoder, & Greenhoot,

2016). To experience the process of identity development, individuals mediate, analyze, and adjust one’s beliefs and or life objectives, within a given life stage. To develop a strong feminist identity, individuals will reflect on their own values, and begin to acknowledge the discrimination of women (Yakushko, 2007). The development of a strong feminist identity occurs in five stages from low levels of awareness of prejudice of sexism and gender inequality towards complete consciousness.

The five stages of feminist identity development include the passive acceptance, revelation embeddedness, synthesis, and active commitment stages (Downing & Roush,

1985). While many scholars have suggested that individuals will develop a feminist

identity in a linear fashion from stage to stage, some scholars have hypothesized that individuals cycle from stage to stage or may be in several stages at one time (Yakushko,

2007). Exploring the linear fashion of feminist identity, the first stage of feminist identity development is the passive acceptance stage, in which individuals simply ignore or are not aware of sexism and gender inequality (Downing & Roush, 1985). The revelation stage describes individuals who are becoming more aware of sexism and feel extreme anger. The revelation stage can be difficult for individuals and they often express their anger towards men, while envisioning every aspect of society as patriarchal (Wolff &

Munley, 2012). Once individuals’ anger begins to decline, they have reached the embeddedness stage. Within the embeddedness stage, individuals begin to understand that there is more they can do to fight sexism than simply be angry (Downing & Roush,

1985). Emerging from the embeddedness stage, individuals reach the synthesis stage and define how they are going to defy the roles society has given them, personally and as a group. Lastly, individuals settle into the active commitment stage. Individuals feel comfortable labeling themselves as feminists and want to work for equality.

To explore the feminist identity development of individuals, Alexander and Ryan

(1997) measured the feminist identity of undergraduate college students. Researchers used interviews to analyze how young women view feminism and whether young women were willing to label oneself as a feminist. Researchers found that young women have very complex and at times, conflicting, ideas of feminism. Some young women concluded that feminism is a positive aspect of women’s lives. Stating that feminism helps women work to live fulfilling lives and accomplish their goals. On the other hand, some young women viewed feminism as negative, correlating feminism with the man-

hating stereotype. Most participants identified with feminist ideologies between these two extreme views of feminism while resisting identification with extreme stereotypes.

Furthermore, Witte and Sherman (2002) measured women’s feminist identity and their range of self-silencing. Researchers found that participants who accepted women’s oppression and traditional gender roles were more likely to be placed in the passive acceptance stage. Participants in the passive acceptance stage were also more likely to silence themselves. While there have been many studies measuring the feminist identity of college aged women and beyond, such as the studies mentioned above, research has yet to measure the feminist identity of young girls. At this point in time, we do not understand how young girls develop feminist identities or what young girls need in order to develop strong feminist identities.

Identity Development

Erikson (1968) theorized that the process of developing a positive identity is marked by the ability to differentiate one’s own self from others. To understand at what age children can differentiate one’s own self from others, Amsterdam (1972) conducted a study in which he placed a smudge of rouge on the noses of children ranging in ages from twenty-four months to six years of age. After the smudge had been placed on a child’s nose, he or she was placed in front of a mirror. If that child viewed him or herself in the mirror and reached to touch the smudge on his or her nose, it was concluded that the child had developed a sense of self. Findings indicated that children begin to develop a sense of self around 20 months of age. Once children have developed a sense of self, they will begin to build an identity by exploration that requires individuals to define who they are, what they value, and the direction they want to purpose in life (Berk, 2016). As young

individuals define who they are, what they value and the direction and possibilities of their life, they assemble information about themselves and their environment (Arnett,

2000). To organize the stages in which children define who they are, Erikson (1963) developed a series of psychosocial stages of development that children experience.

Erikson (1963) developed these psychosocial stages of development and stated that healthy developing individuals should pass through each stage from infancy to late adulthood in order to develop a strong sense of self. The first four stages of Erikson’s model address children ages zero to twelve years of age. The first stage is titled the trust versus mistrust stage. This stage lasts from zero to one-and-a-half-years old and involves the child deciding whether the world is a safe place. Next is the autonomy versus shame stage which occurs from ages one-and-a-half to three years old. Within this stage, children explore their degree of independence and autonomy. Next, between the ages of three to five years old, children experience the initiative versus shame stage. During this stage, children examine their interpersonal skills. Lastly, the industry (competence) vs. inferiority stage which occurs between the ages of five and twelve years old. Children within this stage work to expose specific prophecies and skills that are valued by society and begin to develop a sense of satisfaction in their accomplishments. As children move through each stage, one must consider how environmental factors, such as gender roles, can influence children’s identity development.

Gender stereotypes are universally held beliefs about what traits should belong to males or females (Berk, 2016). Broverman, Broverman, and Clarkson (1972) developed a list of stereotypes considered connected to men or women. Traits most often connected to women were: warm, gentle, understanding, nurturing, helpful, aware of other’s feelings,

expressive, emotional, submissive, and sensitive. In contrast, men were seen as independent, competitive, decisive, active, self-confident, dominant, competent, unemotional, adventurous, and ambitious. These stereotypical traits can affect children’s view of the world. Children are constantly watching adults and peers as to better understand what is respectable behavior of a male or female (Blaise, 2005). Children use this information to construct their identity and behavior. The examples of gender roles that children are exposed to greatly mold the development of their outlook on society, and regulate their own behavior. For example, researchers found that when young females are directed to be nurturing and caring, they were more likely to put the needs of others before their own. In contrast, when young males were taught to be leaders and practice independence, they were more likely to be independent and avoid revealing personal emotion (Hart, 1996). These findings support the idea that when children are directed to behave in a certain manner, they often display the directed behavior.

While children use gender stereotypes to mold their own behavior, the fashion in which they mold their behavior varies with age. For example, between the ages of three and four years, children use these examples of gender roles to develop very fixed rules of what is considered a male or female trait (Blakemore, 2003). Due to the fact that children see gender roles as fixed with little flexibility, children are often unwilling to be friends with children that defy gender roles (Ruble et al., 2007). Additionally, because children view gender roles as fixed entities, children also conclude that violating societal gender roles is an unacceptable practice. Furthermore, children ages one through five years strongly agree with gender stereotypical activities, and occupations. Children six through eleven years expand their intelligence on gender stereotypes to explain personality traits and

individual growth and improvement. However, during this age period, children begin to see gender stereotypes as more flexible (Berk, 2016). By the time children are between the ages of 12 and 18 years, the agreement with gender stereotypes and gender segregation with peers decreases. The growth and advancement that children experience from viewing gender roles as fixed to more fluid can affect how children label themselves. In other words, children’s understanding of gender roles can affect their gender identity development.

Gender identity development can be defined as an intricate, psychological construct that mirrors how individuals associate with both gender groups (Martin,

Andrews, England, Zosuls, and Ruble, 2017). As children age and develop gender identity, they pass through gender typing milestones (Banse et al., 2010). Children ages one through five years of age first learn to label oneself as an individual gender, then understand gender stability and constancy. Preceding this milestone, children between the ages of six and eleven begin to experience a difference in gender identity development based on gender. Females of this age start to see individual gender identity as more fluid.

However, males experience an increase in pressure to adhere to the male gender stereotype, masculinity. Finally, children in the mists of 12 and 18 years see a decline in the idea of ridge gender stereotypes. While it is understood that children develop gender identities and become gender-typed, it is not fully understood exactly how children become gender typed.

There are various theories functioning to explain how children become gender- typed. One of these theories is gender schema theory. Bem (1981) developed a cognitive theory to explain how individuals become gender-typed within a society. Bem claims that

individuals take in information about their gender and adjust their behavior given their culture’s interpretation of feminine and masculine characteristics. Children use this information to form an idea of themselves, given the cultures characterization of maleness and femaleness. Children develop these gender schemas as they observe gender stereotypes and interpreted that into their own cognitive processing. Bem also points out that children learn to appeal to their heterogeneous structure of gender-related ideas to appraise and classify new incoming information. This means children learn to encode and create knowledge in terms of an evolving gender schema. Martin and Ruble (2004) found that by the time a child has reached the age of five years, they have defined gender stereotypes and will use these stereotypes to sculpt their behavior, navigate cognitive thoughts, categorize memories, and establish opinions of others. While gender schema theory is a highly-recognized theory explaining how children become gender typed, social learning theory is also recognized as a well-thought-out theory explaining how children become gender typed.

Social Learning theory was proposed by Bandura (1977) and claims that individuals learn to act in gender normed fashion through social reinforcement. Children view models of behavior such as family, teachers, characters on the television, and so on.

Children are more likely to reenact the behaviors they have viewed from models that are more like themselves. For example, a male child would be more likely to observe and reenact behaviors that were model by a male adult versus a female adult. Perry and Perry

(1975) analyzed the theory of social learning and observational learning by separating elementary school children into masculine and feminine groups. Children watched a film including a male model and a female model. Results of this study found that masculine

children recalled more behavior displaced by the male model than the female model. As children recall and reenact these behaviors they are rewarded or punished (Bandura,

1977). Behaviors that are reinforced are more likely to occur again while behaviors that are not reinforced are less likely to occur again or may stop all together. Social learning theory theorized that children becoming gender-normed through reinforcement and punishment, but cognitive development theory claims that children become gender normed in correlation with cognitive development.

Kohlberg (1966) developed the cognitive developmental theory. The cognitive developmental theory backs the assumption that children’s understanding of gender is linked to the status of their cognitive development. Kohlberg gained this idea from Piaget who believed that children develop cognitively in stages (Lee, 2000). Piaget also stated that children cannot understand or process information until they are in the correct cognitive stage No matter what stage children are in, they will do their best to understand and interpret their environment. For example, the average two-year old can label his or her own gender and label others gender (Lee, 2000). However, they have yet to reach a cognitive stage that would allow them to understand gender constancy. This means that the average two-year old believes that one can change genders by simply changing clothes. Once a child has reached the cognitive stage that grants them the ability to comprehend that gender is constant, they will look to societal concepts to conclude what is expected of males and females. Additionally, once children understand that gender is constant, they will work to keep the differences between boys and girls quite clear

(Maccoby, 1980). With considerable information stating that young children can develop

a sense of self or identity, one must question how young children develop an ethnic-racial identity.

Ethnic Identity Development in Children

Researchers have a great understanding of the identity development of children, as well as how children develop an ethnic-racial identity. Ethnic-racial identity is defined as the degree in which an individual acknowledges his or her race to be an influential aspect of his or herself-concept (Sellers et al., 1998). As mentioned above, Erikson

(1968) theorized that the process of developing a positive identity is marked by the ability to differentiate one’s own self from others. To differentiate oneself, older children and adolescents who are developing their ethnic-racial identity begin to comprehend that they have similar circumstances and experiences as their own racial group compared to individuals of a differing racial group (Syed & Azmitia, 2008). Constructing these similarities and differences is an extensive developmental task of late childhood and adolescence and is progressively being treated as an essential product of the development of older children and adolescents (Syed & Azmitia, 2008: Umaña‐Taylor et al., 2014).

Components that are particularly important during the development of ethnic-racial identity are ethnic racial labeling, knowledge, and dependability (Umaña‐Taylor, 2008).

Components of the development of an ethnic-racial identity can evolve variously depending on one’s cognitive abilities and environment.

The development of ethnic-racial identity can vary based on an individual’s ethnicity, social background, and by lived experiences and involvement (Syed & Azmitia,

2008). This is similar to women’s development of feminist identity as women who have a supportive environment and have been educated on legitimizing feminist facts are more

like to develop a strong feminist identity (Reger, 2002). As children mature, they develop stronger social-cognitive abilities which allows them to consider how race and ethnicity effects their lives and social involvement (Quintana, 1998). Children also gain the cognitive abilities to embody values of their own racial and ethnic group. Older children and adolescents merge their personal identity with racial and ethnic groups, to develop an ethnic group awareness (Umaña‐Taylor et al., 2008). To grasp one’s ethnic-racial identity, individuals must collect ideas from social involvement (Syed &Azmitia, 2008:

Umaña‐Taylor et al., 2014). Social involvement and context exposes older children and adolescents with a variety of suggestions about ones racial and ethnic group (Erickson,

1968). The interactions between an individual and his or her social context will influence his or her ethnic-racial identity. Each day will expose older children and adolescents with fluctuating suggestions about their ethnic and racial identity, thus making the process of developing a racial-ethnic identity oscillate (Erickson, 1968).

To organize the effects of age, social context, and cognitive abilities, Umaña‐

Taylor et al. (2008) proposed a model to capture the ethnic-racial identity of early, middle, late childhood, and adolescents. To summarize this model, Umaña‐Taylor sees cognitive milestones of early childhood to be refinement, assimilation, etc. Early childhood social factors are the media and one’s family. During early children, one’s ethnic and racial components include comparing oneself to others. Next, middle childhood assimilates with cognitive abilities such as equality based reasoning and social factors of family, peers and the media. Middle-aged children use their ethnic and racial identities to understand bias and social hierarchy. Lastly, adolescents can use abstract thinking and have added social influences such as puberty, and social demands.

Adolescents have the ability to internalize of his or her culture’s values. A study conducted by Serrano-Villar and Calzada (2016) measured the ethnic identity of 4 to 5- year-old Latino children. Results were consistent with Umaña‐Taylor model as it was found that participants had arising ethnic identities. Furthermore, it was found that participants with stronger ethnic identity showed better adaptive behavior and displaced fewer externalizing and internalizing problems. It was determined that children with a stronger ethnic identity were more equipped with skills need for behavioral functioning.

Due to environmental factors granting children the inventory to develop a strong ethnic identity, and acquire the many positive aspects that correspond with developing a strong ethnic identity, it is questioned whether environmental factors, such as a classroom, could give children the support to develop a strong feminist identity.

Feminist Pedagogy

Feminist pedagogy is best described as a collective laboratory in which students and professors work together to unravel, interpret, decode research and analyze the theory of women’s experiences (Kimmel & Worell, 1997). Professors and students working together is important as perception does not occur in a vacuum, instead perception is developed in social interactions. Social interactions grant individuals the chance to hear a different point of view of the same topic. From there, individuals must take the differing points of view of and make sense of it thus developing a deeper understanding of the topic (Dillenbourg, 2006). Within a feminist pedagogical classroom, students and professors work together. While working together professors make an effort to enforce the idea that each student is equally knowledgeable, a significant source of knowledge, and equally liable for the outcome of each conversation (Kimmel & Worell 1997;

Sinacore & Boatwrigh, 2005). Educators encourage student experiences to be constructed through diverse viewpoints, permitting to distinct and diverse answers to complicated social obstacles (Robinson-Keilig, Hamill, Gwin-Vinsant & Dashner, 2014). Professors often incorporate and applaud diverse viewpoints such as gender, class, culture, and family background (Wang, Chao & Liao, 2010). It is important for educators to applaud students’ diverse experiences considering that as they model a high regard for students diverse experiences, they encourage their students to do the same (Kimmel & Worell,

1997). As students are encouraged to commend fellow students diverse backgrounds, students are able to explore personal engagement of course concepts while understanding privilege and oppression, challenging myths about privileged and oppressed groups, questioning normalcy, analyzing where knowledge is established and fixed, how knowledge affects identities of individuals, and exposing oneself to text that acknowledges diversity (Sinacore & Boatwrigh, 2005). Feminist pedagogy places great importance on each student’s voice and also questions the power dynamics of the learning environment.

Within the feminist classroom, students are not only seen as knowledgeable, but also given a chance to acquire power within the classroom. Feminist pedagogy works to reconsider the power and authority of the professor, and instead have the professor maintain a balance between authority and partnership with students (Sinacore &

Boatwrigh, 2005). The balance of power allows students to take control over their learning and feel empowered. Falk-Rafael et al. (2004) used qualitative data and a pretest–posttest research design to demonstrate the effectiveness of feminist pedagogy in empowering learners to make changes in their personal and professional lives. Results of

this study indicated that student empowerment scores increased significantly in the feminist classroom. The traditional classroom does not grant students the chance to feel empowered as students rarely have control over their learning as educators are seen as the disseminators of knowledge and students are to simply accept this knowledge and never take time to analyze and questions knowledge. Furthermore, the feminist pedagogical classroom objects to the educator versus student hierarchy and points value on each student’s background and intelligence, all while promoting critical consciousness

(Robinson-Keilig, Hamill, Gwin-Vinsant & Dashner, 2014). In fact, the current view of cognitive constructionism holds that professors should be thought of as cognitive guides for academic tasks, and learners should be seen as sense makers (Mayer, 1996). As an educator attempting to create a classroom that adopts the current view of cognitive constructionism and feminist pedagogical instruction, one can include activities that create collaboration between oneself and students. Activities that create collaboration are small group discussions, guided discovery, and meaningful academic tasks.

Educators who discourage the traditional views of power and instead collaborate with students, do so by supporting open conversations, encouraging students to get to know one another as humans, speaking genially, and taking risks to truly speak one’s mind.(Sinacore & Boatwrigh, 2005). Activities to empower students and allow open conversation within the feminist pedagogical style classroom include incorporating active learning activities that are women-centered, including women role models, assigning students to journal their life experiences, and engaging students in projects for social change. These classroom activities aspire to focuses on issues faced by women of all race, class, and sexual orientation (Tisdell, 1998). It is important to include these women-

based activities within the curriculum because women are worth it, the exploration of women’s lives has been absent with the modern classroom, and once this teaching method is well established, this method can be used to speak about oppressed men

(Kimmel & Worell, 1997). As professors practicing a feminist pedagogical style work to empathize the exploration of women’s lives, reinforce the concept that each student is knowledgeable, and reinterpret the authority and power within the classroom, they are crafting a learning environment that turns the status quo of a traditional learning environment upside down (Sinacore & Boatwrigh, 2005). As educators work to question the status quo of teaching, they face many risks, challenges, and rewards.

Educators who take on the feminist pedagogical teaching style will find it quite rewarding but may also face challenges (Kimmel & Worell, 1997). To begin, a rewarding quality of being a feminist educator is that one can import their personal values into their professional life. As on import their values, one will feel a connection with the feminist community, and be able to assist in student development of feminist awareness and empowerment. However, while there are many benefit of taking on a feminist teaching style. There are always challenges. For example, it can be difficult for an educator to find the correct balance of collaboration with students versus power. While educators do want to collaborate with students, they must also set boundaries that remind students they are still the figure of power. It must be noted that feminist pedagogy does not aim to replace or undervalue a professor’s knowledge network, but simply acknowledge that each student has a unique portion of knowledge to share (Ellsworth, 1989). As educators collaborate with students, students may feel the need for unconditional support.

Nonetheless, educators cannot always give students unconditional support for the need to

maintain a figure of power. Furthermore, students may react negatively to feminist materials in the classroom and work to dismiss class material. Although, the feminist pedagogy teaching style can bring on challenges and rewards, the overall goal of the feminist pedagogical teaching style can cancel out negative aspects (Kimmel & Worell,

1997).

Feminist pedagogy has been shown to increase learning outcomes and course satisfaction. Wang, Chao and Liao (2011) conducted a study to explore the learning outcomes of using a feminist pedagogical teaching style. One class received a feminist pedagogical teaching strategy, while the other class received a traditional teaching strategy. During the experimental period, both the control group and the experimental group were taught by the same professor and presented the same class materials. Results indicated that the individuals who had received the feminist pedagogical teaching strategy, compared to the traditional teaching style scored better on vocabulary, reading, and grammar. Additionally, individuals in the experimental group showed significantly better focus and organization. Lastly, those in the experimental group reported significantly greater satisfaction with the teaching method, and classroom environment.

This study’s findings supports one of the many of goal of the feminist pedagogical teaching style. A feminist pedagogical teaching style has also been implicated in a high school setting to explore whether a feminist pedagogical teaching style would influence the identity formation of African American girls.

It is noted that inequalities Black high school females face are often under-looked in traditional high school curriculum (Evans-Winters, 2011). Lane (2017) measured whether adding Black feminist pedagogical activities would influence development of

gender identity and academic motivation. Lan used an auto-ethnography approach to measure to and document any influence the Black feminist pedagogy curriculum instilled on the girls development of gender identity and school engagement. After taking part in the feminist pedagogical curriculum, participants experience increased feelings of empowerment and self-confidence. Participants also expressed motivation to outperform society’s limited expectations for academic achievement for African American girls. In addition to empowering individuals, teachers and facilitators adopting a feminist pedagogical teaching style supports critical consciousness in participants.

Feminist pedagogy aims to increase participants’ critical consciousness skills.

Critical consciousness can be defined as the capability to analyze, question, and evaluate societal constructs and institutional systems that constitute social inequality (Duncan-

Andrade & Morrell, 2008). Thus, individuals who have developed critical consciousness skills have the ability to place responsibility of social inequality on institutional systems instead of individuals who are victims of inequality. Increased critical consciousness skills empower students to make changes in their own lives as well as the lives of others

(Robinson-Keilig, Hamill, Gwin-Vinsant, & Dashner, 2014; Sinacore & Boatwrigh,

2005). Researchers noted that critical consciousness is best fostered in groups in which facilitators hold non-oppressive relationships with participants while discussing current sociopolitical circumstances in order to expose institutional systems that create inequality. (Campbell & MacPhail, 2002; Watts, Abdul-Adil, & Pratt, 2002). The manner in which to increase critical consciousness mirrors procedures of feminist pedagogy. As mentioned above, feminist pedagogy is a collective laboratory in which students and

professors work together to unravel, interpret, and analyze the theory of women’s experiences (Kimmel & Worell, 1997).

Overall, the goal of the feminist pedagogical teaching style is to better the learning environment. The feminist pedagogical style strives to facilitate social change, increase personal development, and restore women’s history (Sinacore & Boatwrigh,

2005). Educators work to give students the tools needed to use critical thinking skills, value diversity and to make a difference. It has been found that individuals who question damaging societal traditions can increase their sense of acceptance and confidence. Once students increase their sense of acceptance, and confidence, they obtain the skills needed to make a difference in their personal lives, and work to transform the damaging societal traditions (Martin & Beese, 2017). Increasing critical consciousness skills and allowing students to speak their mind has been found to empower students to work towards social change (Robinson-Keilig, Hamill, Gwin-Vinsant & Dashner, 2014; Sinacore &

Boatwrigh, 2005). Including feminist pedagogy styles into the classroom and entitling individuals to speak freely can work to make social change.

A characteristic of the feminist movement is to allow all voices to be heard (Foss et al., 1999). The feminist pedagogical instructional and method supports this goal as students are encouraged to speak their minds as well as listen to others (Sinacore &

Boatwrigh, 2005). Since the feminist pedagogical teaching method encourages goals of feminism, it makes sense that incorporating a feminist pedagogical teaching method or activity may strengthen the feminist identity of individuals.

The Boys and Girls Club

The Boys and Girls club focuses on providing positive life skills. Feminist ideologies are not a prime focus of this organization. Instead, skills in leadership, fitness, and education are emphasized (“Boys & Girls Club”, 1998). The Boys and Girls Club is an after-school program, open to children ranging from kindergarten to their senior year of high school. The program is a nonprofit organization that charges only a small fee in order for students to attend. The club prides itself on providing a safe place were children and adolescents can develop as constructive and responsible members of society. The ultimate goal of the Boys and Girls club is to encourage healthy youth development.

Studies have concluded that children who attend the club after school have high rates of self-esteem (Roffman, Pango & Hirsch, 2001). The Boys and Girls Club is a critical factor for the growth and development of many school-aged children.

Conclusion

Feminism holds the essential idea that women are important and should be seen as equal to needs and ideas of men (Crawford, 2006). It is important that women identify as feminists because research has indicated that there are many positive aspects of developing a strong feminist identity. Because feminism has the potential to permit so many positive aspects to women’s lives, it important to understand how individuals develop feminist identities.

To develop a strong feminist identity, individuals reflect on their own values, and begin to acknowledge the discrimination of women (Yakushko, 2007). The development of a strong feminist identity occurs in five stages from low levels of awareness of

prejudice of sexism and gender inequality towards complete consciousness. However, in order to develop a feminist identity, one must have developed an identity.

Erikson (1968) theorized that the process of developing a positive identity is marked by the ability to differentiate one’s own self from others (Amsterdam ,1972) Findings indicated that children begin to develop a sense of self around 20 months of age. Once children have developed a sense of self, they will begin to build an identity by exploration that requires individuals to define who they are, what they value, and the direction they want to purpose in life (Berk, 2016). While children are developing a self- identity, environmental factors such as gender roles influence children’s development of identity.

Gender stereotypes are universally held beliefs about what traits should belong to males or females (Berk, 2016). These stereotypical traits can affect children’s view of the world (Blaise, 2005). The examples of gender roles that children are exposed to greatly mold the development of their outlook on society, and regulate their own behavior.

Additionally, children’s understanding of gender roles can affect their gender identity development.

Gender identity development can be defined as an intricate, psychological construct that mirrors how individuals associate with both gender groups (Martin,

Andrews, England, Zosuls, & Ruble, 2017). As children age and develop gender identity, they pass through gender typing milestones (Banse et al., 2010). It is not fully understood exactly how children become gender typed. However, there are many theories to explain how children become gender typed. While theories account for the development of gender-typing, less is know about developing other facets of identity.

Ethnic-racial identity is defined as the degree in which an individual acknowledges his or her race to be an influential aspect of his or herself-concept (Sellers et al., 1998). To differentiate oneself, older children and adolescents who are developing their ethnic-racial identity begin to comprehend that they have similar circumstances and experiences as their own racial group compared to individuals of a differing racial group

(Syed & Azmitia, 2008). Due to environmental factors granting children the inventory to develop a strong ethnic identity, it is questioned whether environmental factors, such as a classroom, could give children the support to develop a strong feminist identity.

Feminist pedagogy is best described as a collective laboratory in which students and professors work together to unravel, interpret, decode research and analyze the theory of women’s experiences (Kimmel & Worell, 1997). Furthermore, professors often incorporate and applaud diverse viewpoints such as gender, class, culture, and family background (Wang, Chao & Liao, 2010). Feminist pedagogy works to reconsider the power and authority of the professor, and instead have the professor maintain a balance between authority and partnership with students (Sinacore & Boatwrigh, 2005). Feminist pedagogy may have an impact on the development of feminist identity.

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

Design of the Investigation

This study used a quasi-experimental design to measure whether being part of a feminist pedagogical activity increased feminist identity scores of young girls. The independent variable was participation or no participation in the feminist pedagogical activity. The dependent variable was participants’ feminist identity scores, measured by the adapted Feminist Identity Development Scale.

Participants

All girls of appropriate age from the Boys and Girls Club were invited to participate. Fifteen girls from The Boys and Girls Club participated. Permission slips were distributed to girls and parents needed to sign the permission slip and return it back to their daughter’s organization. Girls who received parental consent were selected to participate. Girls who participated did not receive an incentive for participating in this study.

Instruments

An adapted version of the Feminist Identity Development Scale was used to gather data on participants’ degree of feminist identity development (Bargad & Hyde,

1991). The Feminist Identity Development Scale was found to have a Cronbach alpha ranging from .44 to .81 and a content validity medium of 92% (Moradi & Mezydlo,

2002). This scale explores views of feminism ranging from apathetic to strong (Bargad &

Hyde, 1991). To measure views of feminism, the Feminist Identity Development scale holds five stages or subscales of feminist identity development ranging from one being unware or ignoring sexism to one feeling comfortable labeling oneself as a feminist and seeking to work for gender equality (passive acceptance, embeddedness/emanation, revelation, synthesis, to active commitment). Due to participant’s age, this survey was shortened and written at a fourth-grade reading level. The adapted scale still encompassed the five stages of feminist identity development. Two or three items from each subscale were placed on the shorted scale. For example, participants were presented with the statement, “I want to work to improve girls’ lives.” Girls could rate whether they agree or disagree on a five-point scale. A high score on this scale indicated that one has developed a strong feminist identity. Principle component analysis with varimax rotation yielded a one-factor solution. The one-factor solution may indicate that feminist identity could be simpler in young girls as compared to young adults.

Three questions from the Self-Concept scale were adapted to measure girls’ individual concepts of what it means to be a girl. Participants were be presented with the first half of a statement and asked to fill in the rest with their own words. For example,

participants were to complete the statement, “Being a girl means I…” Results were coded based on themes.

Treatment

Two researchers were present at the Boys and Girls Club and conducted the study in groups of five participants at a time. Data collection with both the experimental and control group occurred in different rooms, simultaneously. Collecting data from groups simultaneously avoided participants the chance to speak with one another. Participants in the experimental group were first read a letter explaining to them their rights as participants, why they were there, that they would be read a book, and lead through an activity. Next, the experimental group was read the book, Drum Dream Girl. This book was chosen as it has won the Pura Belpré Award and the Carnegie Medal. Plus, this book has a female protagonist, questions gender roles, and illustrates a different culture. To read participants the book, an audio tape was played, book pages were presented on a

PowerPoint, and a researcher used a clicker to move from slide to slide. After the experimental group was read the book, participants were given 10 minutes to draw a picture illustrating how gender roles affect their lives. Participants were given a plank piece of paper and a package of colored pencils. This activity was chosen to reinforce the idea that each participant is knowledgeable (Kimmel & Worell, 1997) and holds valuable experiences and viewpoints (Robinson-Keilig, Hamill, Gwin-Vinsant & Dashner, 2014).

Once each participant had completed her drawing, each participant was given a chance to present her picture to the group. Allowing participants to present their drawing was an attempt to grant each participant a voice and a sense of power and thus reduce the power imbalance between participants and the activity leader. After each presentation, there was

time for a conversation in which group members could ask questions or make comments about the presenter’s picture. As participants presented their drawings and participated in conversations, participants could hear different points of view and experiences.

Participants could take the differing points of view, make sense of it, and develop a deeper understanding of gender roles and gender equality (Dillenbourg, 2006). During presentations and conversations, the researcher’s job was to encourage participants to share their story and provide each participant with positive reinforcement regardless

(unless a participant’s speech was harmful to others) of what each participant said. For example, facilitators used statements such as, “tell me more”. Facilitators were not to encourage participants to speak of a certain topic or come to any certain conclusions.

After each participant had presented her picture and conversations were over, participants were asked to fill out the adapted feminist identity development scale and adapted self-concept scale. The control group was not read the book or lead through the feminist pedagogical activity. Instead, the control group was read a letter explaining their rights as participants and why they were there. Than the control group was asked to complete the adapted scales. To provide space, participants in both groups were given a clipboard and asked to spread around the room. To ensure that the participants understood how to take the survey, sample questions were provided. Participants were also provided with a pencil. Once all participants were done, the researcher collected each questionnaire. Finally, as a debriefing session, both groups were given a chance to ask the researcher any questions about the project.

CHAPTER IV

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

Feminist Identity Development Scale

Before the data could be analyzed, a factor analysis was conducted to explore subscales within the adapted feminist identity scale. Subscales were explored as the original Feminist Identity Development Scale included the following subscales: passive acceptance, revelation, embeddedness, synthesis, and active commitment. The 11 items were subjected to a principle component analysis with varimax rotation. A one-factor solution explained a total of 30.34% of the variance.

Given that no subscales were found in the new survey, an analysis of the internal reliability of over-all scores was conducted. Fifteen surveys were included in this analysis. A reliability analysis resulted in a Cronbach alpha of .61 for the adapted scale.

Feminist Pedagogy and Feminist Identity

To explore possible differences in feminist identity between the experimental and control groups, an independent t-test was conducted. The independent variable was the condition (experimental, control) while the dependent variable was the score on the adapted Feminist Identity Scale. Results of an independent samples t-test revealed no differences (t = -.423, p = .595) between the experimental group (M = 4.11, SD = 0.55) and control group (M = 4.22, SD = 0.43).

Given the limited sample size, a Mann-Whitney U test was used to explore the possible difference in feminist identity between the experimental and control groups. The Mann-

Whitney U test revealed no difference in feminist identity between the control and experimental group.

Participant Age

A one-way ANOVA was conducted to analyze differences in feminist identity by participant age. Due to the limited sample size, ages 8 and 9 were grouped together (n =

5), ages 10 and 11 were grouped together (n = 5), and ages 12 and 13 were grouped together (n = 4). There were no statistically significant differences in feminist identity across age groups.

Self-Concept

Self-concept was assessed through written responses to several prompts. An analysis of the written responses revealed several themes. Tables 1- 6 display responses to the statements Being a girl means I…”, “Being a girl means I feel…” and Being and girl means I believe…” Tables 1 and 2 display responses to the short-answer item,

“Being a girl means I…” Tables 1 and 2 entail a strong majority of short answer showing themes of equality, and female gender role. Table 1 presents the theme, independence, while table 2 does not.

Table 1

“Being a Girl means I…” Short Answer Responses (Exp. Group)

Being a girl means I…

Theme Frequency Percent Example

Equality 2 25.0 “Get to play with boys and girls…” Female Gender Role 4 50.0 “Can brush my hair” Independence 2 25.0 “Can do things I want not what others want to be”

Table 2

“Being a Girl means I…” Short Answer Responses (Con. Group)

Being a girl means I…

Theme Frequency Percent Example

Equality 1 20.0 “Am important and everyone is important” Female Gender Role 3 60.0 “Can wear makeup if I want to. Other 1 20.0 “Have to work hard”

Tables 3 and 4 display responses to the short-answer item, “Being a girl means I feel…”

Tables 3 and 4 entail a strong majority of short answer showing themes of positive emotion and mixed emotion.

Table 3

“Being a Girl means I feel…” Short Answer Responses (Exp. Group)

Being a girl means I feel….

Theme Frequency Percent Example

Positive Emotion 4 50.0 “Like I can be strong without the help of a man. Mixed Emotion 1 12.5 “Amazing, brave, beautifull… and I can feel sad, mad… angry… Other 3 37.5 “Like I have to be like other girls.”

Table 4

“Being a Girl means I feel…” Short Answer Responses (Con. Group)

Being a girl means I feel..

Theme Frequency Percent Example

Positive Emotion 3 60.0 “Good about myself” Mixed Emotion 2 40.0 “A lot of things I have feelings and sometimes girls get hurt and boys don’t understand.”

Tables 5 and 6 display responses to the short-answer item, “Being a girl means I

believe…” Tables 5 and 6 entail a strong majority of short answer showing themes of

positive self-concept and equality. Table 5 presents the theme, future self, while table 6 does not.

Table 5

“Being a Girl means I believe…” Short Answer Responses (Exp. Group)

Being a girl means I believe..

Theme Frequency Percent Example

Future Self 2 25.0 “In my dreams I really want to be a kindergarten teacher” Positive Self- 3 37.5 “I can do anything” Concept

Equality 3 37.5 “That all genders are equal and important to socity.”

Table 6

“Being a Girl means I believe…” Short Answer Responses (Con. Group)

Being a girl means I believe…

Theme Frequency Percent Example

Positive Self- 3 50.0 “That I can do anything” Concept

Equality 1 16.6 “That girls should be equal to boys” Other 2 33.3 “In god”

Independent sample t-tests were conducted to explore possible differences in the length of written responses generated by participants, comparing the control group and the experimental group. Results indicated there were no significant differences in written response length. Mean word count for the short answer item, “Being a girl mean I…” was

10.13 (SD = 5.84) for the experimental group and 5.6 (SD = 1.52) for the control group.

Mean word count for the short answer item, “Being a girl means I feel…” was 9.9 (SD =

6.01) for the experimental group and 5.2 (SD = 6.14) for the control group. Lastly, the mean word count for the short answer item, “Being a girl mean I believe…” was 8.3 (SD

= 4.84) for the experimental group and 6.3 (SD = 5.0) for the control group.

Discussion

The current study explored how a feminist pedagogical activity could influence the development of feminist identity in young girls. It was hypothesized that girls who took part in the feminist pedagogical activity would have greater development of feminist identity than girls who did not take part in the activity. An independent samples t-test revealed no differences in the development of feminist identity between participants who took part in the feminist pedagogical activity and participants who did not. Although no significant difference was found, much can be learned from these results. Participants scored an average score of 4.11 to 4.22 (out of 5) on the adapted feminist identity scale.

This indicates that girls (regardless of being in the experimental or control group) have a strong feminist identity. The feminist identity development scores of young girls may be an important predictor to their development and future. It is known that feminist identity develops throughout life. Researchers have found a strong feminist identity in Latina adolescents (Manago, Brown, & Leaper, 2009) and undergraduate college students

(Alexander & Ryan, 1997). The present results indicate that the development of a feminist identity may begin early in life and may be the start of individuals’ feminist identity throughout life.

The sample in the present study was 15 participants. These 15 participants required parental permission to participate in this study. There may be a difference between girls who received parental permission and girls who did not. Potentially, participants in this study live in an environment that values gender equality. A parent who values gender equality may feel eager to have their daughter take part in this study, while parents who do not value gender equality may oppose their daughter taking part.

The current study measured the feminist identity of young girls who are members of an organization that values skills such as independence, leadership, and confidence.

There are programs within the Boys and Girls Club that may enhance feminist identity.

Many female Boys and Girls Club members participate in a program, Smart Girls Club

(BGCA, 2017). Smart Girls Club discusses female health and encourages self-esteem enhancement. This sparks the question of whether there is a difference in feminist identity of girls who are members of the Boys and Girls Club and girls who are not members of this organization. Future research should explore the feminist identity of a broader, more heterogeneous sample of girls. There is much value in developing a deeper and broader understanding of the variability in feminist identity of young girls. This would be an important first step in promoting and developing feminist identity.

While participants in the control and experimental groups illustrated no significant difference in feminist identity, average word count for responses to self- concept short answer items did differ. Word count differences were not statistically significant, but it is important to highlight that participants in the experimental group, on average, provided longer responses than participants in the control group. It could be that the feminist pedagogical activity motivated participants to more thoroughly express their opinions. If this assumption is correct, a goal of the feminist pedagogical activity was fulfilled. Perhaps, after taking part in the activity, participants felt that their voice mattered, thus choosing to write more when responding to the short answer items. Not only was there a noticeable difference in mean word count, a difference in short-answer themes also emerged.

While analyzing short-answer item responses, two themes emerged in the experimental group that did not emerge in the control group. For the short answer item,

“Being a girl means I…” the theme, independence, was noted for the experimental group.

For the short-answer item, “Being a girl means I…” the theme, future self, emerged for the experimental group. It may be that after taking part in a feminist pedagogical activity, participants felt empowered to focus on their impendence and future. For example, in the book, Drum Dream Girl, the protagonist focused on completing her dreams, no matter the obstacles she faced.

There are several aspects of the data collection procedures used in the present study, which limit internal and external validity. As mentioned, the sample size was small and all participants were members of the Boys and Girls Club. Data collection took place at multiple locations. Some locations provided quiet areas with little distraction for data collection. However, at some locations, data collection took place with a great amount of noise and distractions. In several locations, data collection was conducted outside due to lack of space within facilities. While this is a natural and uncontrollable element of this research design, it is important to highlight that some participants may have had an increased chance of focusing on the procedures, while other participants may not have had a strong chance of doing so. The feminist identity development scale that was used in the present study was adapted from a scale used in college student samples. While the

Cronbach alpha was respectable, further assessment of reliability and validity of the adapted scale is needed.

Researchers have yet to analyze whether a feminist pedagogical activity can influence feminist identity. It was also unknown whether the construction of the feminist

pedagogical activity would represent the goals and directions of feminist pedagogy. Face validity suggests this was accomplished, yet future researchers could establish further validity. Additionally, researchers should continue to explore the influence of a feminist pedagogical activity on the development feminist identity. If the pedagogical activity does strengthen the development feminist identity in young girls, it would be important to assess the long-term impact of the activity. Adopting a longitudinal approach to understand how a feminist pedagogical activity affects the feminist identity of young girls would prove meaningful.

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusions

Previous research has explored feminist identity in college-aged women but not younger age groups (Alexander & Ryan, 1997; Manago, Brown, & Leaper, 2009) It is not known what feminist identity looks like in young girls or how young girls development feminist identities. The present study was conducted as it is important to examine the feminist identity development of young girls, given that feminism has been found to be related to many positive outcomes (Burn, Aboud, & Moyles, 2000; Manago, Brown, &

Leaper, 2009; Sabik & Tylka, 2006; Saunders & Kashubeck-West, 2006.) The present study explored the influence of a feminist pedagogical activity on feminist identity in young girls. It was hoped that the knowledge gained from this study inform programs aiming to strengthen the feminist identity of young girls. This knowledge could then be used by programs to ensure they are strengthening the feminist identity of young girls.

After accessing and guiding these programs, we can increase the positive outcomes of developing a strong feminist identity. It is important to strengthen the feminist identity of young girls as the positive aspects of developing a strong feminist identity act as a protective factor against many forms of sexism. Girls, who were members of several

Boys and Girls Clubs, participated in this study. Girls either participated in a feminist pedagogical activity and then completed an adapted version of the feminist identity development scale and an adapted version of a self-concept scale (experimental group) or simply completed the adapted scales (control group). Results of statistical analyses did

not find statistically significant differences in Feminist identity and self-concept. Despite this, the results of this study are important to consider.

Recommendations

This study attempted to understand whether participating in a feminist pedagogical activity influences the development of feminist identity in young girls. Due to the limited sample size of the current study, it is recommended to replicate the current methodology using a larger sample size. Although the current study did not find significant results, a larger sample size might yield different results. It is possible that participating in a feminist pedagogical activity influences the development of feminist identity.

Considering that the influence of a feminist pedagogical activity had yet to be explored, it was necessary to construct a feminist pedagogical activity. The activity was carefully created using principles of feminist pedagogy, However, it is not established that this activity is a valid and reliable activity to promote feminist identity. Future researchers should take on the task of creating a valid and reliable feminist pedagogical manipulation. It is also important to understand the length in time in which the feminist pedagogical activity increases the development feminist identity in young girls.

Adopting a longitudinal method to best understand how a feminist pedagogical activity affects the feminist identity of young girls would prove meaningful. It may be that a feminist pedagogical activity does strengthen the feminist identity of young girls, but for how long? It is important that researchers create a feminist pedagogical activity that strengthens the feminist identity of young girls for a long period of time. In addition,

concluding whether participating an organization influences the development of feminist identity is relevant.

The current study collected data from participants who were members of an organization, The Boys and Girls Club. Future research should explore the feminist identity of a more varied cross-section of girls. While the focus of the current study was young girls, future researchers should compare the feminist identity of adult aged participants who have participated in a feminist pedagogical activity or course compared to those who have not. This is recommended as many college courses adopt a feminist pedagogical teaching method in attempt to influence the development of feminist identity of college students. Results could advise college professors in the case that a feminist pedagogical teaching method is or is not an effective teaching strategy to influence the development of feminist identity in students.

The core of the present research study illustrate the value of exploring feminist identity of young girls. The importance of young girls’ development of a strong feminist identity can be expanded to factors such as sexism. Sexism continues to be a genuine problem today. It is important that the next generation of women gains the confidence and skills needed to combat sexism. For example, on average, women earn 80 cents for every dollar males make. This means women are underpaid in the business world

(Crawford, 2018). Outside of the United States, on average, women make just 60 to 75 percent of what men earn (U.N Women, 2016). To close the pay gap and, we must ensure that young girls are developing a strong feminist identity. Furthermore, women have a much larger probability of falling below the poverty line than men (United Nations

International Conference of Population and Development, 2014). This is largely due to

the pay gap and the lack of women in the business world. It is becoming ever so important for young girls to become advocates of gender equality. Young girls with strong feminist identities may grow to look past the discrimination they face in the work place, and continue to fight for equal pay and equal representations of genders in the work place.

Sexism continues to trouble women each day by underpaying women in the work force. Another form of sexism placing trouble on the lives of women is sexual harassment. Just as women are often underpaid in the work place, women are often victims of sexual harassment in the work place. In fact, 35 to 50 percent of women have experienced some form of harassment in the work place (Gutek & Done, 2001).

Unfortunately, women who experience sexual harassment in the work place often retreat form connecting with fellow coworkers and the company while also disengaging form their own work (Pina & Cannon, 2012). It is important for women to feel comfortable in the work place and excel in their professions. For this to hold true, employers need to withstand strict sexual harassment policies while also taking all reports of sexual harassment within the work place seriously. For now, it is important to for women to hold effective coping strategies when faced with sexual harassment. As mentioned above, women with strong feminist identity’s hold efficient tactics to handle the stressors when encountered with sexism (Crawford, 2006). While women continue to face sexual harassment in the work place, particular fields such as the STEM field are known for extreme amounts of sexual harassment in the work place.

Women continue to be underrepresented in the STEM fields. Girls with a strong feminist identity may have a greater difficulty agreeing with the idea that women are less

qualified then men to seek a degree and career in the STEM field. Data of the present study predicted that the future generation of girls could become more focused on STEM as they understand that gender equality is important and valid. Within 15 to 20 years, we could begin to see more women enrolled in STEM majors and holding jobs in STEM fields.

On the one hand, young girls are developing strong feminist identities. On the other hand, the current trend of banishing all women’s rights organizations, could bring about the next wave of the women’s movement (Aronson, 2003). Many government officials are fighting to close programs such as Planned Parenthood, as well as a government-funded program titled “Let Girls Learn”. Due to the current government trend, girls may be more aware of sexism than previous generations. The finding of this research may be due to the current backlash of feminist values. Young girls are noticing the sexism occurring, leading to a greater probability that young girls will soon make a large difference.

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