Gender comparisons in the perception of self-competence among four-year-old children.
The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of gender differences in the perception of self-competence among 4-year-old children. Sixty-one-4-year-olds (27 girls and 34 boys) from predominantly European American backgrounds participated in the study. The children's self-competence was measured using the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children (Preschool version; S. Harter & R. Pike, 1984), which has 4 separate subscales: (a) cognitive competence, (b) physical competence, (c) peer acceptance, and (d) maternal acceptance. A within-subject 2-way analysis of variance with repeated measures of 4 (subscales of perception of self-competence) x 2 (gender) was performed to determine if gender differences existed in the children's perception of self-competence. Analyses of the data showed no significant gender differences in the scores on the 4 subscales for the perception of self-competence among the children. These results could be interpreted as being due to a less gender-stereotyped society and androgynous environment for these preschoolers.
Jambunathan
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Department of Elementary Education, State University of New York, New Paltz, USA. sjambun@yahoo.com
Hurlbut
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D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015146:Midwestern United States; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D010379:Peer Group; D012649:Self Concept; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012737:Sex Factors; D013240:Stereotyping