Perceptions of in-service teachers and pre-service teachers toward obese and normal-weight children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in perceptions held by in-service and preservice teachers toward obese and normal-weight children. Judgments were made about selected personality characteristics of the children. The subjects were 109 pre-service teachers who were enrolled in teacher preparation courses, and 95 in-service teachers who had classroom teaching experience. The subjects were shown a photograph of either an obese boy, an obese girl, a normal-weight boy, or a normal-weight girl. The photograph of the faces of the boys were the same, as were the faces of the girls. A case description accompanied the photographs which was identical for all children except for appropriate gender differences. The subjects rated one of four possible combinations of weight and gender f or personal characteristics. Analysis of variance was used to assess significant differences in the way obese and normal-weight children were perceived by the subjects. Investigation of interactions was also possible because of the factorial design. The results of the study indicated that for a number of statistically significant characteristics obese children are consistently perceived more negatively than are normal-weight children. Among the significant characteristics were attractiveness, energy level, leadership ability, self-esteem, and the ability to be socially outgoing. With all other variables held virtually constant, obesity alone appeared to be the factor that was responsible for this phenomenon. A number of interactions were observed. For several characteristics, obese boys and obese girls were perceived differently when compared to their normal-weight counterpoints. Also, in-service teachers perceived obese children differently for some characteristics when compared to pre-service teachers.