An Analysis of High School Students' Participation in Decision Making Mechanisms in Terms of Gender

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the distribution of male and female students’ participation in decision-making mechanisms in high schools and the effect of gender on the reasons that lead to this distribution. Sequential explanatory design was, a mixed method design, was followed in the study. The participants were students in a high school offering mixed-gender education located in a city center in Turkey in the 2016-2017 academic year. 'Decision Making Mechanisms Form' was used to collect quantitative data and descriptive statistics techniques (i.e. frequency and percentage) were used to analyze the data. 'Electee Questionnaire' and 'Voter Questionnaire' have been developed in order to collect qualitative data. Descriptive analysis was used to analyse the data collected in this stage. The results showed that students did not have enough motivation to participate in decision-making mechanisms, there were fewer female students in both being the candidate and being the president/assistant/representative, the proportion of female students decreased as the level of representation in decision-making mechanisms increased, and there were problems in adhering to democratic election principles when selecting representatives at schools. The qualitative data analysis results suggested that students' purposes of being the representative were not in line with democratic values. Male students tended to prefer male candidates. Female students experienced problems both in the process of being the candidate and in the process of doing their job due to their gender. Students, mostly female students, did not make propaganda and did not use democratic propaganda methods. Students had gender stereotypes about women’s participation in decision-making mechanisms. Female students are aiming to break down the patriarchal mindset by supporting female students in elections.