"What I find alarming is gender identities are becoming more rigid as students get older," says Professor Shelley Peterson of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT) and author of the study. "These gender roles don't allow students to explore other topics, styles and ways of being."
Peterson asked 54 Grade 8 students from an urban and suburban school in Ohio to write a story on any topic and consult with their peers while crafting it. She analyzed their writing and put the students in focus groups so they could critique each other's writing and choice of topics. Her findings were published recently in the journal Gender and Education.
Although Peterson found writing and gender stereotypes closely linked, there were a few students whose stories had different themes. Some girls wrote about sports and a couple of boys wrote about relationships, but on a competitive level.
In addition, her study showed the students tended to write stories that were socially acceptable with their peers. "There are certain themes they know shouldn't appear in their writing if they want to appear socially competent," says Peterson.
The study, entitled Gender Meanings in Grade Eight Students' Talk about Classroom Writing, was funded by a grant from Ohio State University.
CONTACT: Professor Shelley Peterson, OISE/UT, 416-923-6641 x 2375, slpeterson@oise.utoronto.ca or Sue Toye, U of T public affairs, 416-978-4289, sue.toye@utoronto.ca
Journal
Gender and Education