GENDER EFFECTS IN SCHOOL SUBJECT PREFERENCES - A RESEARCH NOTE

Rankings of liking for nine curriculum subjects were obtained from 93 middle school pupils aged 11-13 years, who also completed the Children 's Sex Role Inventory. Statistically significant gender differences in the rankings of English and humanities were found, which were both pr eferred by girls, and for physical education (PE) and science, which w ere preferred by boys. Some statistically significant associations bet ween subject rankings and sex typing measures also emerged. Higher ran kings of music and humanities were associated with higher Femininity s cores, while higher rankings for PE were associated with lower Feminin ity scores. The only significant association with Masculinity was for English, where higher rankings were associated with lower Masculinity. No significant associations with Masculinity or Femininity were found for science, a traditionally male-stereotyped curriculum area. Associ ations found between the rankings of the different subjects indicated a tendency for pupils to prefer either more academic or more practical subjects, but there was no indication from the limited data available on their performance that this could be related to their academic abi lity. The implications of these preliminary findings for future invest igations are discussed.