Changes in Student Social Attitudes, Activism, and Personal Confidence in Higher Education: The Role of Women’s Studies

Abstract

Goals of higher education have included the development of understanding and acceptance of diverse groups, commitment to working for social justice, and personal confidence. The effectiveness of women’s studies (WS) and non-women’s studies (NWS) classes in bringing about these student outcomes was assessed on 32 college campuses; 548 WS and 241 NWS students participated. Both repeated (pretest, posttest, and follow-up) and subjective change measures indicated that WS students increased more than NWS students in egalitarian attitudes toward women and other stigmatized groups, awareness of sexism and other forms of discrimination, activism for social causes, and intention to engage in social activism. Teachers’ pedagogical practices, as assessed by students, related to student outcomes but accounted for only a small portion of the difference between WS and NWS classes. Implications for higher education are considered.