Gender stereotypes in Greek computer science school textbooks

Abstract

The formation of stereotypes and prejudices at an early age decisively contributes to gender discrimination, with a direct effect on accentuating inequalities between women and men throughout their entire life. As school textbooks are the main means of instruction, gender role portrayals in these teaching materials affect how learners think, feel, and behave regarding the two genders. The present study performs a qualitative study using content analysis to identify the elements of sexism and gender role stereotyping in a selected group of textbooks, which are used by teachers and students for computer science instruction in the three grades of general lyceum in Greece. Each textbook was carefully examined for the stereotypical presentation of gender roles of men and women. The findings show that the three textbooks, to a greater or lesser extent, perpetuate stereotyped prejudices regarding gender roles in relation to the new technologies.