Public Prejudice Against Women School Administrators: The Possibility of Change

Abstract

This paper uses survey data to explore the extent to which greater contact with women school administrators and changing generations can influence public prejudice toward women administrators and override the impact of regional and educational differences on these attitudes. Little support is found for these possibilities. Specifications of cognitive dissonance and consistency theories, specifically involving the problems of generalizing from one situation to another and the need for sufficient stimuli to create dissonance, are used to explain these findings. If affirmative action programs result in more women being hired for line administrative positions, however, it is suggested that sufficient dissonance or cognitive inconsistency may be created to produce attitude change.