"GENDER (IN) EQUALITY: SEXISM IN THE PRIMARY GRADES’ ENGLISH-SCIENCE-MATH MODULES OF A PRIVATE SCHOOL "

Abstract

This quantitative-qualitative study aims to determine the gender inequality found in the nine modules produced by a private school. Using Chi-square Goodness-of-Fit Test, the results reveal that English and Math modules observe gender equality as there is no significant difference found in the proportion of female visibility and male visibility in the said learning modules. The same is true with Grades 2 and 3 modules. However, the Grade 1 and Science learning modules show that there is significance difference in the proportion of female visibility and male visibility. Hence, the modules do not observe gender equality. It should be noted however that the female illustrations outnumber male illustrations. Based on the analysis using Porreca’s Linguistic Aspect of Gender Representation, certain occupations were attributed to males and females. Moreover, male characters are more frequently shown in domains such as agriculture, science and engineering and sports than their female counterparts. Women are predominantly engaged in activities related to health, education, leisure, and family. Further, the title “Mrs.” refers to a married female, whereas Miss refers to a maiden. Using marital status together with a surname underrates females about males because they are presented and treated in the society a ccording to their marital status. However, the title Mr. does not indicate a male’s marital status and is frequently used to address respectfully. When it comes to Firstness, the analysis revealed that when male and female names are paired or mentioned together, males usually come first. The implications of these findings are further discussed.