The attitudes and feelings of elementary school children toward their mothers' working

The fact that an increasing number of mothers is entering the labor force is one aspect of cultural change in American society. The traditional role of females as good wives, homemakers, and mothers is being challenged as women attempt to find greater self-fulfillment in gainful employment. No one would argue that the emerging dual role for women as mother-wage earner has had significant effects on the traditional family structure and, more importantly, the members of that family structure, especially the children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes and feelings of elementary school children toward their mothers' working and the attitudes and feelings of children toward their future wives working (if a boy), or combining the worlds of motherhood and work (if a girl). In addition, the number of mothers working was investigated. All three of these queries were studied in terms of these variables: race, sex, grade level, self-esteem, sociability and socio-economic level. The results of this study showed significant differences in the number of working mothers of students based on race and socio-economic level. Significant differences were found regarding the attitudes and feelings of students toward their mothers' working based on all of the variables used: race, sex, grade level, self-esteem, sociability, and socio-economic level. In addition, significant differences were found among students in their attitudes and feelings regarding future female work predictions on all of the variables used: sex, race, grade level, self-esteem, sociability, and socio-economic level.