Perception of Saint Mary’s University Senior High School Students of Gender Equity and Their Attitude towards Gender Role

Due to the current state of gender inequality, it is typical for both boys and girls to experience physical, sexual, or psychological harm based solely on their sex in both public and educational settings. This study aims to determine the students of Saint Mary’s University Senior High School (SMU SHS) of their perception of gender equity. Additionally, this study seeks to determine the attitudes toward gender roles. The researchers used both qualitative and quantitative design and determined its research locale in Saint Mary’s University Senior High School, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, and the SMU SHS student population, both Grade 11 and Grade 12 as research participants. Furthermore, the researchers made use of Stratified Random Sampling as the sampling method used in the Senior High School Department. The study used a mixed-method design and used various statistical tools to analyze data specifically, thematic analysis for qualitative data and inferential statistics. Results have shown that the respondents have a positive perception of gender equity, while a negative attitude toward gender roles. For the perception of the respondents towards gender equity when they were grouped according to their profile variable there is a significant difference in their perception, except for family type. For attitudes toward gender roles, there is a significant difference in attitude. Lastly, for relationships, there is a high positive correlation between a respondent’s perception of gender equity and their attitudes towards gender roles. These findings may imply the urgency of promoting gender equity awareness and challenging restrictive gender roles in education. The findings also emphasize the need for proactive engagement with religious communities to foster a more inclusive understanding of gender, advocating for a delicate balance in restricting students' freedom while promoting awareness through educational initiatives and online promotion to create a more inclusive school culture help understand the influence of religious sects on respondents’ attitudes towards gender roles and the administration of the school should advocate restricting students’ freedom to express themselves, promoting awareness about gender roles and their negative impact, and highlighting the importance of inclusivity through online promotion and advertisement.