Educational experiences and shifts in group consciousness: Studying women

This study takes a multifaceted approach to group consciousness. The author s assessed changes in women's feminist consciousness clue to their exposure to feminism through women's studies. Feminist consciousness was measured a t the beginning and end of a semester during which some research participan ts were enrolled in an introductory women's studies course. Women's studies students were compared with students who were interested, but not enrolled , in women's studies. As expected, women ts studies students showed an incr ease on several aspects of feminist consciousness, whereas non-women's stud ies students did not. Non-women's studies students became less sensitive to sexism. It is also noteworthy that, although they became more feminist, wo men's studies students did not become more negative toward men.