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 in Psychology ____________ by © Kristin Vierra Spring 2019 THE EFFECTS OF A FEMINIST PEDAGOGICAL ACTIVITY ON THE FEMINIST IDENTITY OF GIRLS AGES 8 TO 12 A Thesis by 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. iv 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. v 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 vi 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 by © Kristin D. Vierra 2019 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 ix 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. x 1 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