Abstract
Bias is communicated via the “hidden curriculum”—the vehicle for the unspoken academic, social, and cultural messages that are communicated to students while they are in school. Revealing the hidden curriculum in English language textbooks (ELTs) entails an analytical and holistic approach to the content of the text and images appearing in school textbooks by connecting corresponding examples of subliminal bias which may be many pages apart. This article reviews existing Japanese and international literature on the gender bias created by the hidden curriculum before going on to present a Japanese case study of an ELT in widespread use in Japanese public junior high schools. It was found that while males and females are represented equally in terms of quantity, there exists a remarkable subliminal gender bias that affects young learners’ worldviews of female and male roles in society.
Highlights
The hidden curriculum is a global phenomenon of significance to educators around the world because school textbooks play a crucial role in shaping students’ worldviews of female and male roles in their respective societies
The author of this article applied a qualitative case study research method (Yin, 2009) to the first book of the New Crown series, which was examined for gender bias—the depiction of women in subordinate roles or engaged in stereotypical activities
A previous study on Japanese English language textbooks (ELTs) conducted by Otlowski (2003) emphasized that “a number of textbooks, and especially textbooks published in Japan fail to represent accurately the substantial role women . . . play in the make up and workforce of modern societies” (p. 7)
Summary
The hidden curriculum is a global phenomenon of significance to educators around the world because school textbooks play a crucial role in shaping students’ worldviews of female and male roles in their respective societies. The author of this article applied a qualitative case study research method (Yin, 2009) to the first book of the New Crown series, which was examined for gender bias—the depiction of women in subordinate roles or engaged in stereotypical activities. The focus of this article is placed upon the first book (in a series of three) which provides extensive examples of gender bias, and concurs with prior research on this issue in the Japanese context. Based on the United Nation’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (adopted 1979), and the Beijing Platform for Action (adopted 1995), textbooks promote gender equality if they meet the following criteria: (a) females are protagonists, (b) females and males are not described according to a stereotypical sexual. A system of education is a product of collective thought, reinforcing and reflecting the social and cultural context of specific nations
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