Gerda Siann

Who gets bullied? The effect of school, gender and ethnic group

Summary A total of 1,139 secondary school pupils from two outer London schools and one Glasgow school completed a questionnaire concerned with their perception of what bullying is and their own experience of it, both as bullies and as victims. Significant differences were found for schools relating both to the perception and experience of bullying. Significant sex differences were also found, with boys experiencing more bullying both as perpetrators and as victims than girls. Contrary to expectation, there were no consistent statistically significant differences between the ethnic groups in either the experience or the perception of bullying though considerably, and significantly, more ethnic minority pupils believed ethnic minority pupils to be more likely than majority pupils to experience bullying. These findings are discussed with reference to the phenomenology of the bullying experience.

Gender and computing: persisting differences

Summary Four hundred and twenty‐nine students attending five Scottish secondary schools, drawn from the first, third and sixth years, completed a questionnaire concerned with experience of, and attitudes to, computers and their use. Statistically significant differences between the sexes were found in a number of areas. In general, girls reported less experience of using computers at school, although there were no gender differences in the use of computers for playing games. Boys were significantly more likely than girls to own computers and also reported using computers more frequently outside school, although there were no significant gender differences in the use of computers outside school for word processing. Further analyses carried out on a subsample of 196 pupils indicated significant gender differences on two attitudinal scales: positive orientation to computers (boys scored more) and the tendency to endorse sex‐stereotypical views (boys were more likely to do this). Significant age differences w...

Motivation and Attribution at Secondary School: the role of gender

Summary A total of 1068 secondary school pupils completed a questionnaire concerned with enjoyment of school, enjoyment of subjects and what they attributed academic success to. Gender differences were shown in the overall enjoyment of school (girls expressing greater enjoyment). Girls also reported liking friends, teachers, outings and lessons more than boys, while boys reported liking sports and school clubs more. Enjoyment of school subjects reflected traditional sex stereotyping: girls reported more liking than did boys for English, French, German, history, drama, music and home economics while boys reported more liking for science. craft and design technology, physical education and information technology. Some gender differences were shown in rating factors contributing to academic success (girls rating hard work and teachers’ liking for you as more important than boys, and boys rating cleverness, talent and luck as more important than girls) but attributions with respect to academic success varied ...

Bullying: teachers’ views and school effects

Summary Fifty‐one teachers completed a questionnaire and 20 teachers were interviewed about bullying. The teachers taught at two Outer London schools with high proportions of ethnic minority pupils where pupils had previously reported significantly different incidences of bullying. Analyses of the teachers’ responses indicated that at the school where pupils had reported a higher incidence of bullying, teachers were significantly more likely to perceive behaviour as bullying, observe bullying and have pupils report bullying to them. The majority of teachers interviewed endorsed gender differences in type of bullying. Only a minority of teachers believed that there were clear‐cut bully typologies but most believed that there were typical victim personalities. These results are discussed within a phenomenological approach to bullying.

A respectable job: Factors which influence young Asians' choice of career

Abstract To find out why some college or university courses are particularly attractive to ethnic-minority school-leavers, school pupils and first-year students of South Asian (n=158) and UK origin (n = 158) completed a questionnaire relating to occupational choice. The social position attainable from a ‘respected’ profession and the ability to work with others who share similar beliefs were found to be of greater importance to subjects from an Asian background than to those of UK origin, who placed greater emphasis on personal growth and autonomy. There was no evidence that the Asian young people were consciously choosing careers with the aim of avoiding discrimination.

Motivation and Attribution at Secondary School: The role of ethnic group and gender

Some 985 secondary school students completed a questionnaire as part of an investigation into the experiences of Asian girls in a secondary school arising out of a larger project concerned with motivational factors in educational attainment. Results indicated that (1) Asian girls enjoyed all aspects of school life as much or more than their non-Asian counterparts; (2) across both ethnic groups girls enjoyed all aspects of school except sports and clubs more than boys; (3) enjoyment of subjects followed sex stereotypical lines, irrespective of ethnicity: girls rated English, French, German, drama, music and home economics as significantly more enjoyable, and boys rated science, craft, design and technology, physical education, information technology and mathematics as more enjoyable; (4) irrespective of gender, Asian students reported more enjoyment of religious education, and lower enjoyment of drama, physical education and home economics; (5) irrespective of ethnic group, girls reported that there was no...

Chips with Everything: personal attributes of heavy computer users

Summary Thirteen male secondary school pupils (CHIPs) displaying relatively high levels of interest in, and knowledge about, computers were selected from a sample of 429 respondents to a questionnaire about computers. Their responses to the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) and the Youth Telic Dominance Scale (YTDS) were compared with the responses of 14 matched respondents (Matches) selected because of their relative lack of interest in computers. In order to provide normative data 34 controls (Controls) also completed the three scales. The CHIP and Match samples were also interviewed. Results indicated that the CHIPs obtained significantly lower ‘masculine’ scores on the BSRI, scored higher on the GEFT and obtained significantly higher arousal avoidance scores on the YTDS than the other samples. Analysis of the interview transcripts, however, did not support the commonly held view that heavy computer users are less sociable than their peers.

Selecting Solicitors in Scotland: Gender issues

This article reviews gender inequities in the legal profession in the context of a study in which 278 Scottish students (123 men; 155 women) filled out a questionnaire about their most recent interview for a legal traineeship. There were no gender differences in responses with respect to the location, length, number and types of such meetings, though women were more likely to apply to medium-sized firms. There was no difference in topics discussed except that respondents who were mothers were more likely than those who were fathers to report discussion of domestic arrangements. Furthermore, extended comments suggested that women were more likely than men to be asked about sensitive issues but the numbers involved were very small. In general the study did not indicate explicit gender discrimination though it was pointed out that the inequitable gender balance on selection boards in favour of men may have disadvantaged women. These results are discussed within the context of other findings which reveal considerable gender inequity within the profession. It is suggested that further research is required to establish why the discriminatory effects suffered by women lawyers in Scotland do not emerge until later in their careers.