An Assessment of Gender Norms among Students Towards Equality in Higher Education

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to assess gender norms among students towards equality in higher education in Malaysia. The study was conducted in two higher learning institutions such as International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) in Malaysia. A total of 300 students (77 males & 223 females) were selected as the respondents using purposive sampling method. A survey research design was employed in this study. Questionnaires were completed in a supervised setting by the research protocol. The first objective of this study was to assess student’s attitudes towards equality at higher education institutions. Results revealed that despite the majority of the respondents showed favorable attitudes towards equality; less favorable attitude towards gender equality was noted with respect on religious leadership and boys’ priority over girls in education. The study examined whether there is any difference between male and female student’s attitudes towards equality. Results showed that female students tended to have more egalitarian or non-traditional attitudes than male students towards equality. The paper analyzed the relationship between the demographic characteristics and student’s attitudes towards equality. The results revealed that the ethnicity, region of residence, father’s educational level have positive associations with student’s attitudes towards equality. Keywords-Equality, Inequality, Gender norms, Traditional, Non-traditional, Decision making