Occupation and Gender Stereotypes in Primary School: The Case of the English Language Coursebooks in Greek Primary Schools

Vassiliki Teliousi,Vassiliki Pliogou,Makrina Zafiri

doi:10.13189/ujer.2020.080403

Abstract

This research refers to gender stereotypes, which exist in English language coursebooks in Greek primary schools and the possible influence these stereotypes may exert on the choice and development of an individual's career. After conducting a content analysis on the Primary School's English language coursebooks, the results prove the existence of gender stereotypes mainly in the 5th and 6th grade coursebooks. The references and pictures, which show male performing certain occupations obviously outnumber the ones depicting female occupations. Furthermore, in the coursebooks, there are stereotypical ideas such as: manual occupations which are ruled by men, while occupations which relate to education and care are performed by women. Moreover, an attempt was made to triangulate this research with semi-structured interviews, which were conducted to English language teachers. According to the English language teachers' experiences, the existence of gender stereotypes on occupation is evident in the English language coursebooks of the 4th, 5th and 6th grades, but is minimal in the textbook of the 3rd grade. To sum up, most of the teachers, who were interviewed claim that later in life, career choice is influenced by the stereotypes which exist in the 4th, 5th and 6th grade coursebooks, but only to a limited extent. According to the teachers who were interviewed, the teaching methods and approaches, which are applied by the teachers and which concern the teaching of the coursebooks and the social and family background of the students are the main factors, which influence the student and which exert a strong impact on the student's career choice.

Highlights

Despite the progress of the Greek educational system through the past decades, gender stereotypes, which have affected all social walks of life for centuries, seem to be reproduced consciously or subconsciously, even today, in several facets of the Greek educational system [1]
The main purpose of the present study is to probe into the gender stereotypes which relate to occupations and will later influence the career choice of the students – who are attending primary school - through a qualitative analysis of the English language coursebooks which are used in Greece
Most teachers concluded that the limited number of stereotypes that exist in the coursebooks of the 3rd grade create a neutral image for the students, except teacher 2 (T2), who stated that “[s]tudents attending smaller grades identify with the different professions we find in the coursebook and create fantastic scenarios which are generally a ‘fun time’ for them."

Summary

Introduction

Despite the progress of the Greek educational system through the past decades, gender stereotypes, which have affected all social walks of life for centuries, seem to be reproduced consciously or subconsciously, even today, in several facets of the Greek educational system [1]. Research shows that the gender gap which exists in the school environment has an impact on students’ studies, career choices and occupations later on in life This can be avoided if methods and practices for integrating gender equality in schools are applied, at an early stage, by teachers [4]. Something which has not been researched, so far, is the possible influence of gender stereotypes on English primary school coursebooks in Greece which relate and influence the future occupation or career choice of Greek students. This constitutes the topic of this study

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion