The effects of a feminist pedagogical activity on the development of feminist identity in girls ages 8 to 12

Previous research has explored feminist identity in college-aged women but not younger age groups (Alexander & Ryan, 1997; Manago, Brown, & Leaper, 2009) It is not known whether feminist identity can begin to develop in childhood if encouraged at a young age. Additionally, research has yet to measure whether exposure to a feminist pedagogical activity can increase the feminist identity development of young girls. All girls of appropriate age from local Boys and Girls Clubs were invited to participate. Fifteen girls from The Boys and Girls Club participated. This study used a quasi-experimental design to examine if girls who participated in a feminist pedagogical activity had greater feminist identity than girls who did not participate in the activity. The independent variable was the activity in which girls participated and the dependent variable was participant feminist identity. Researchers supplied girls with an adapted version of The Feminist Identity Development Scale (Bargad & Hyde, 1991) and an adapted version of a self-concept scale. It was predicted that girls who participated in the feminist pedagogical activity would have greater development of feminist identity than girls who did not participate. Results did not support the hypothesis. Feminist identity was not different in the experimental and control groups, but was strong, overall. Further research is suggested to enhance our understanding of feminist identity development and to study the creation of feminist pedagogical activities to enhance feminist identity.