An exploration of the gendering mediating students' attitudes and experiences in the formal academic curriculum at secondary school level in Libya
[Thesis]
Hammadi, N. K. B.
Nottingham Trent University
2013
Thesis (Ph.D.)
2013
Introduction: The study was conducted to explore the gendering mediating students' attitudes and experiences towards the formal academic curriculum at secondary school level in Libya. The problematic nature of the link between access, quality of schooling and gender equality in the curriculum in Libya is not sufficiently recognised. Methods: A total of 800 secondary students (ages 15-20), (males=389, females=411), who were from urban (n=360=45%) and rural (n=440=55%) localities of Libya completed a questionnaire designed to respond to a 5-point Likert scale of 19 items to elicit and to find out the key factors that influence students' gendered perceptions, interests and characteristics of their future subject directions towards the aspects of school academic curriculum. 16 semi-structured interviews were also followed up to gain a deep understanding of the issues and enrich the validity of the questionnaire evidence. The statistical analysis software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was applied. The t-test statistic was used to compare the means and test the significance of any possible differences that existed between male and female responses. Results: These depicted a significant effect of gender differences on students' perceptions, experiences and attitudes related to the aspects of the science curricula, science and technology courses. Females had significant higher attitudes towards science than males in urban school regionson the total scale. A significant gender difference was also depicted in the students' perceptions of their abilities related to learning mathematics. Females showed more negative attitudes compared with males. Rural males had significant higher attitudes and perceptions towards mathematics, more than so urban males. The causes of these gender differences were found to be multifaceted. The study has identified students' classroom experiences, culture, religion and societal factors as being influential in making females internalize the feeling that they are inferior to males. Discussion: The findings evidently showed a great desire for positive curriculum changes among participants' effective amendments within the contents of the formal academic secondary school curriculum in major areas: Curriculum and Assessment; Teachers' Attitudes and Classroom Environment; Teacher Training and Qualification; Teachers' and Students' Participation; and Gender Religion and Culture Influences. This study has made a contribution to the theoretical social and educational framework of curricular alignment by investigating the alignment between the non-testable elements of the curriculum which are related to the affective domain of Bloom's taxonomy (includes the manner in which we deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values, appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations, and attitudes) and shown that a tight alignment between these elements and classroom practice can help to minimize the role played by the implicit curriculum.