Leadership perceptions of third grade students based on both gender of the leader and gender of the student

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the gender of third grade students at Longfellow Elementary and their rating of perceived leadership effectiveness of both males and females as measured by the Kapanke-Sproul scale. The subjects for this study were all of the third grade students at Longfellow Elementary School. This study utilized four pictures with written narrative descriptions attached. The students were each given a packet of four pictures with written narrative descriptions. Each packet contained an effective male leader, an effective female leader, an ineffective male leader, and an ineffective female leader. Half of the students received a picture of a male described as an effective leader while the other half of the students received a picture of a female with the same written description. Next, half of the students received a picture of a female with the description of an effective leader, and the other half of the students received a picture of a male with the same written description. Thirdly, half of the class was given a picture and written description of an ineffective male leader, while the other half of the students were given a picture of a female with the same written description. Lastly, half of the class was given a picture of a female with the a written description of an ineffective leader, and the other half of the class was given a picture of a male with the same written description. At the bottom of each written narrative description there were two questions, and the students were asked to rate their perception of effective leadership ability for each individual on a "Likert Scale." The results were analyzed to determine if gender of the leaders affected how they were perceived by the students. The results were also analyzed to determine if gender of the student affected whether males or females were perceived to be more effective leaders To this researcher's surprise, none of the findings were statistically significant. When looking at the raw data, it appeared that male students perceived male leaders as more effective and female students perceived female leaders to be more effective, but when the data was analyzed this was not the case. The data analysis showed that generally, males and females are perceived as equally effective, regardless of the gender of the student or the leader. The collective findings of this study resulted in the conclusion to accept the Null Hypothesis that there is no statistically significant difference in perceived leadership effectiveness of adult males versus females based upon gender of the third grade students. It is important to study gender issues to help understand what still needs to change to help eliminate sex-role stereotypes in society, occupations, and leadership roles. This information was used to make suggestions for future guidance curriculum to ensure gender equality.