“THINKING SHE COULD BE THE NEXT PRESIDENT”: WHY IDENTIFYING WITH THE CURRICULUM MATTERS

Authors: Rios, Desdamona; Stewart, Abigail J.; Winter, David G.

Source: Psychology of Women Quarterly, Volume 34, Number 3, September 2010 , pp. 328-338(11)

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Abstract:

Researchers have demonstrated that Women's Studies courses can influence changes in beliefs about women, yet there is relatively little research on the impact of introducing material about women into mainstream curriculum. The current study examines the effects of introducing women exemplars into a course that is not identified as “Women's Studies.” Students enrolled in a political psychology course all attended the same lectures and were assigned the same readings; however, one-third of the discussion sections received a gender-inclusive curriculum. As hypothesized, female students in the gender-inclusive sections wrote more frequently about women and leadership in their final exams, including the positive influence of female leaders on their own identities in terms of leadership and career opportunities. These findings suggest that female college students benefit significantly from female exemplars in mainstream course curriculum.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2010.01578.x

Affiliations: 1: University of Michigan

Publication date: 2010-09-01