Women's Attitudes towards Social Change in Relation to National Development in Bangladesh

Abstract

The present study attempts at investigating the similarities and differences of attitudes towards social change in the continuum of modernism-traditionalism of Dhaka women and Rajshahi women in Bangladesh in relation to national development attitudes, personality variables and socio-economic status differences within the framework of socio-cultural and political background. The study has been developed under the theoretical framework of different approaches: (i)Psychological Approaches of Social Change (ii) Modernism Traditionalism Attitudinal Change Approach (iii) French's Formal Theory of Social Power (iv) Deutsch's Theory of Cooperation and Competition (v)Globalization and Social Change (vi) Ratter’s Expectancy Reinforcement Model and Social Learning Theory (vii) Demographic Approach. All these approaches have been utilized and integrated in order to show similarities and differences of attitudes towards social change between high and middle socio-economic status women of Dhaka and Rajshahi. The present study utilized a multidimensional correlational approach with a criterion group design. The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, criterion groups of supportive and non­supportive women for social change of Dhaka and Rajshahi were selected on the basis of Social Change Criteria Questionnaire (SCCQ). These criterion group women were selected from two residential backgrounds -one from Dhaka and the other from Rajshahi. Again Dhaka women and Rajshahi women were further sub divided into high SES and middle SES according to their responses regarding educational, occupational and income background mentioned in the personal information sheet (PIS). The use of this criterion group design has considerable advantages in highlighting the differences between high SES women and middle SES women of Dhaka and Rajshahi in relation to their social change attitudes in the modernism-traditionalism continuum, national development attitudes and personality dimensions selected for the study. In the second phase, the criterion groups were given the following measures such as: (1) Modernism-Traditionalism Attitude (MTA) Scale (2) National Development Attitude Scale (3) Personality Variables ( 4) Demographic Variables. The attitude measure included (a) Modernism-Traditionalism Attitude (MTA) Scale was constructed by the investigator and (b) National Development Attitude Scale was developed by the present investigators. Personality measures included (a) Paulhus' Spheres of Control (b) Levenson's Internality, Powerful Others and Chance Scale. Demographic information included residential background of high SES and middle SES questionnaire. This study utilized two samples drawn from two residential backgrounds - one from Dhaka and the other from Rajshahi. Each sample was composed of 120 respondents equally divided into high SES and middle SES women. Thus, the study was composed of 240 female respondents. All the female participants have highest educational degree like Graduation, Post Graduation and Ph.D., some of them were the teachers of different Colleges and Universities of Dhaka and Rajshahi. Analysis of data has been divided into three parts. In the first part, inter group and intra group differences on attitude towards social change variables, national development attitudes, personality variables and demographic variables have been computed by univariate method using t-test. In the second part of analyses bi-serial correlation through product moment method were computed to find out the similarities of attitudinal variables and personality variables of intergroup and intergroup. The strength of relationship of all these variables has been shown through intervariable correlations using Pearson's product moment method for Dhaka city and Rajshahi city separately. In the third part, factor analysis of national development attitudes was done using Kaiser's principle method of oblique rotation for Dhaka and Rajshahi jointly. This multivariate correlation matrix would generate structural properties of national development attitudes of total women of both cities combindly. Results obtained strongly supported the hypotheses. It showed that national development attitudes were considerably moderated by social change attitudes, personality factors, SES and residential background. One of the important findings reflected through the intervariable correlation was that the highest correlations were obtained between social change attitudes and national development attitudes in two cities of Bangladesh. Thus, women's attitude toward social change did appear to be important variable in determining the national development programmed conditioned by the modernity attitudes of the literate women. The findings of the present study are explainable by social change and traditional-modernity attitude approach, French's formal theory of social power, Deutsch's theory of cooperation and competition and Ratter’s expectancy-reinforcement model and social learning theory. All the respondents were Muslims. This choice was preferred in order to keep the religious variable controlled. The main objectives of the present investigation were to make a comparative study of the patterns of attitudes and personality of high SES women and middle SES women of Dhaka and Rajshahi as related to (i) attitudes towards social change like internationalism, intrinsic religiosity, modern technology, women empower, modern educational system, power politics and intergroup conflict, globalization in the modernism-traditionalism continuum. (ii) Personality variables of spheres of control (i.e. personal efficacy, interpersonal control and sociopolitical control) and IPC scale (i.e. internality, powerful others and chance) (iii) Patterns of national development attitudes of women of two cities i.e., Dhaka and Rajshahi. (iv) Demographic background of high SES and middle SES women from two residential backgrounds. Four specific hypotheses were formulated. These are as follows: i) It is hypothesized that Dhaka women would have higher scores on the 'modernism' dimension as compared to Rajshahi women on MTA scale. ii) It is hypothesized that Dhaka women would have higher scores on national development attitudes as compared to Rajshahi women. iii) It is hypothesized that Dhaka women would have higher scores of 'personal efficacy' and 'internality' dimension on the personality variables of SOC and IPC as compared to Rajshahi women respectively. iv) It is also hypothesized that high SES women of both Dhaka and Rajshahi would have higher scores on modernism, national development attitudes as well as on 'personal efficacy' and 'internality' as compared to middle SES women of both Dhaka and Rajshahi respectively. In this study an attempt has also been made to integrate all these approaches into a new theoretical perspective in which modern social change attitudes along with personality characteristics, socio-economic status and residential factors jointly shape the national development attitudes. The study has emphasized socio-political, cultural and educational factors instead of genetic factors as the determinants of social change attitudes in the direction of modernism which might cause national development in Bangladesh.