Sex and Power of Preschool Teachers and Children's Sex Role Preferences

Abstract

The relationship between sex and power of preschool teachers and children's sex role preferences was investigated using the It Scale for Children with 19 matched pairs of chil dren in two preschools. Results indicated boys were more masculine in their sex role prefer ences than girls were feminine. While boys tended to increase in their masculinity from 3½ to 4½ years of age, girls' femininity showed no increase. In addition, as predicted by social power theory, boys in the preschool with powerful male teachers were more masculine than boys with powerful female teachers. Power referred to the degree to which teachers con trolled and dispensed resources valued by the children. No significant difference was found between the femininity of girls with powerful male or female teachers. The presence of female aides in the preschool with powerful male teachers may have minimized the effects of the powerful male teachers. These findings suggest that a combination of male and female teachers may be the optimal classroom arrangement for children's learning of sex‐ typed behaviors.