Award Date

1-1-1981

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Secondary, Post Secondary and Vocational Education

Number of Pages

249

Abstract

Bureau of Labor Statistics information indicated 55 percent of all women in the labor force in 1980 were employed in traditional clerical and service occupations. The limited participation of women in certain sectors of the labor force represented a great loss of human potential, particularly in the case of academically talented women. This exploratory study focused on two potential barriers that may keep capable women from realizing their full potential: sex-role orientation and attitudes toward mathematics course-taKing Another area of focus determined what effect stability factors had on the population under study and how stability might affect future studies. A sample of 63 ninth grade Algebra I students were exposed to both live and taped role model presentations. The six female and two male presentors emphasized the importance of high school mathematics course-taking for keeping career options open and the feasibility of continuing a career with family life. The instruments, The Sex-Role Survey and The Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scale, administered on a pre, post and postpost basis, yielded no significant differences in attitude. It was recommended that in order to take a more thorough and revealing look at attitudes as they may be affected by an intervention, the size and representativeness of the sample should be increased. Stability factors from three school districts suggested a wide range of student stability regardless of the size of the district. Losses in student population during one school year ranged from 12% to nearly 30%. It was recommended a school district's research and development department be consulted regarding stability factors to ensure adequate sample size.

Keywords

Attitudes; Effects; High; Intervention; Junior; Mathematics; Model; Orientation; Program; Role; Schools; Sex; Students; Towards

Controlled Subject

Mathematics--Study and teaching

File Format

pdf

File Size

8048.64 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Permissions

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this dissertation or thesis and wish to have the full text removed from Digital Scholarship@UNLV, please submit a request to digitalscholarship@unlv.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/


COinS