University students' attitudes towards women's issues : a comparative study between the Universities of Duhok and Yuzuncu Yil (2014-2015)‎

Abstract EN

The current study aims to discover the attitudes of the students of the universities of Duhok and Yuzuncu Yil towards women's issues relating to education, work and assuming administrative positions and political participation.

Besides, the study aims at spotting the impact of certain variables (e.g., sex, university, specialization and grade) on students' attitudes towards women's issues.

The importance of this study stands out as it looks at the significance of studying trends in general and at the significance of the subject of the gender equality of women and man their right to get education, employment, political participation and administrative positions.

It also detects the role of university education in a change in attitudes towards some of the traditional social issues that hinder such a development, aiming at uncovering the proposals and future recommendations which may lead to prosperity and social stability.

This study depended on a descriptive approach that is based on a comparative study of the phenomenon as it is in reality.

The researcher has used a special tool (a questionnaire) for the detection of students' attitudes towards the right of women to get education, employment, political participation and administrative positions.

The preparation of the questionnaire has passed through two stages: The first stage: the exploratory study and the second stage: the basic field study.

The study sample consisted of (195) students selected from the University of Duhok and Yuzuncu Yil.

The researcher used the following statistical treatments: (Frequencies, percentages) as well as test (T.Test) to find significant differences between the mean scores of students in the scale used in the light of the variables under study such as sex (male students, female students) and universities (Duhok University and Yuzuncu Yil University).

The researcher depended on the analysis of mono variance in the comparison on the basis of grade and specialization.

The study has concluded the following findings: 1.

The general trend for members of the study sample of both male and female students about women's issues was a positive one; the results indicate there is agrowing belief in the importance of women's participation in employment, education and politics and that it is regarded as one of the factors affecting positively in the academic, social and economic aspects and this enhances the positive role of women in building the society.

2.

The results revealed a statistically significant difference between mean scores of males and females in favour of females.

3.

To detect significant differences in attitudes towards women's issues among university students depending on the variable of university (Duhok, Yuzuncu Yil), the researcher compared between the average scores of students in the University of Duhok and the average scores of students in Yuzuncu Yil University.

The results showed no significant differences in students' attitudes in the two universities.

4.

The results revealed significant differences in the trends of respondents towards women's issues attributed to the variable of department of study (area of study) as the study indicates that students of the English Department at the University of Yuzuncu Yil showed more positive attitudes compared to other departments.

5.

The results revealed the presence of significant differences in the trends of respondents towards women's issues attributed to the variable of the class or the school stage, and have found that fourth-grade students were more positive compared to the rest of the grades.

6.

Finally, the results showed no significant differences in the trends of respondents towards women's issues due to age.