Sex Stereotypes, School Subject Preferences And Career Aspirations As A Function Of Single Mixed-Sex Schooling And Presence Absence Of An Opposite Sex Sibling

A total of 284 fourth year pupils participated in a study investigating perceptions of sexual stereotypes and school subjects according to whether (a) they attended a mixed or a single-sex school, and (b) whether they had an opposite sex sibling. Respondents completed a questionnaire measuring perceptions of traits according to gender, ratings of difficulty and enjoyment of school subjects, choices of A-level subjects and careers. It was hypothesised that pupils in the mixed school and pupils with an opposite sex sibling would hold more stereotyped views. These hypotheses were supported in several statistical interactions between sex, school type, and presence of opposite sex sibling. It was found that the presence of the opposite sex resulted in more stereotyped views in some domains, and more perceived difficulty for some school subjects for girls compared to boys.