Addressing disability representation in EFL textbooks used in Hungarian public education

Abstract

Textbooks can play an important role in shaping the image of a particular social group by means of its textual and visual representation. A realistic and unprejudiced image of people with disabilities should be an important part of the curriculum in public education institutions in order to help students understand the needs and reality of those living with a disability.The goal of the present research was to identify and critically analyze disability as curriculum content in English as a foreign language (EFL) textbook used in Hungarian public education. A content analysis of texts and images from sample books was performed by applying coding based on categories used in similar studies, complemented with additional categories to meet the requirements of the present study.In the case of all the examined textbooks, we found that the presentation of people with disabilities in the texts and visual materials was extremely limited. Representation focused on the distinctive aspects of disability. People with disabilities were mostly depicted participating in a minimal variety of segregated and elite activities, while there was a marked lack of images of people with disabilities involved in everyday situations, as individuals, integrated into society, and as part of a given sociocultural environment.