Perceptions of native and immigrant secondary school students towards gender roles

The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of native and immigrant secondary school students towards gender roles, to reveal the similarities and differences in these perceptions and the variables affecting these differences. The study was performed with a 20-participant study group consisting of 11 native and 9 immigrant students aged 12-14, who were studying in a secondary school in Keçiören district of Ankara province in the 2022- 2023 academic year. A semistructured interview form prepared by the participant was applied in the data collection phase of the study in which qualitative research method was used. As a result of the research, it was revealed that the perceptions of local and immigrant secondary school students towards gender roles are similar and that they have an attitude that supports gender equality in choosing a profession. It was obtained that the participants associate the word "woman" with passive adjectives, while they associate the word "man" with active adjectives. In spite of the participants' attitudes supporting gender equality, it was concluded that they remained under the influence of gender roles in their behaviours, games and friend choices in their daily lives. It was determined that the expectations of families from girls and boys were shaped within the framework of gender roles and that women were responsible for domestic duties in the families of the participants. It was reached the conclusion that the reasons for the actions that local and immigrant students could not perform due to gender roles were family, social environment and society. Perceptions of children from families with different cultures, education levels and socio-economic levels about gender were found to be similar. On the basis of the participant views, it was concluded that family, social environment and peer group are effective in the transmission of gender roles.