Student teachers’ perceptions of gendered texts in English language textbooks

Abstract

Although the previous research pointed to the shortcomings of ELT textbooks as regards their representation of gender, it did not explain how ELT teachers perceive gendered texts in textbooks. In order to fill that information gap, this study attempted to obtain senior English language student teachers’ own perceptions of particular “gender-critical points” in primary level ELT textbooks. Student teachers’ views were probed by means of a survey which asked two open-ended questions and the survey was supplemented by focus group interviews. The findings revealed the range of possible ways Turkish student teachers dealt with gendered textbook texts.