Gender Representation In Textbooks Research Articles

Teacher Voices of Gender Representation in EFL Textbook: A case Study in a Senior High School

This research investigated teachers' perceptions regarding gender representation in two government-mandated English language textbooks used in Indonesian senior high schools. This research aims to examine the perceptions of teachers as users and implementers of textbooks regarding the existence of gender bias and stereotypes. This research used a qualitative method with a case study design. The research involved 2 participants, the English teachers who teach in grades 10 and grade 11. Semi-structured interviews were used as the instrument in this research. Analysis of interview data was transcribed manually and then interpreted critically in accordance with Creswell's theory. The findings from this study showed that both teachers expressed awareness of the gender bias and stereotypes present in the textbooks they used. Male representation is more dominant than female. Female roles tend to be placed in stereotypes constructed in society. The existence of certain ideologies is also the cause of unequal gender representation in textbooks. There is a need for continuous development and improvement of textbooks in order to promote equal gender representation. The pedagogical implications of the findings in this research proposed recommendations to educational institution sectors and language policy makers to prepare and publish textbooks that support the achievement of gender equality.

Gender representation in textbooks: a bibliometric study

Gender representation in textbooks: a bibliometric study

Construction of Gender in Linguistic Signs in Selected Kenyan Secondary School English Textbooks

In countries such as Kenya, where textbooks are a core component of classroom experience, the materials have the potential to shape socially enacted identities. Gender representation via linguistic signs in textbooks can have a substantial impact on how students perceive men and women in society. In order to achieve equity in education, which is a key mandate of both the Education for All (EFA) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), gender bias in textbooks must be addressed. The National Policy on Gender and Development (NPGAD) in Kenya sought to enhance equal participation among men, women, girls and boys in education and other thematic areas. This paper contributes to the discourse on gender representation in textbooks by examining gender portrayal in linguistic signs found in selected English secondary school textbooks using Halliday’s (1985, 2014) systemic functional grammar approach. The study applied the explanatory sequential research design (Creswell Plano Clark, 2011). A document analysis guide derived from the model for analyzing linguistic signs by Halliday (1985, 2014) was employed in the analysis of quantitative data from the linguistic signs in four English textbooks. Results showed that in the selected textbooks, masculine representations were more prevalent than those of females. The study also revealed that males were more involved in all the three mood types namely; declarative, interrogative and imperative. Again, more males than females appeared as theme and rheme of clauses. Additionally, it emerged that males engaged more in verbal processes than females did. The study concludes that men are either implicitly or explicitly portrayed as being superior to women in the linguistic signs in the analysed textbooks. The study recommends that Ministry of Education in Kenya initiates measures to alleviate gender disparity by focusing on the issue of gender representation in textbooks. On the other hand, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) may find these results useful in improving the textbooks evaluation based on gender equality prototypes. Improved evaluation, could be used as a basis to revise textbooks currently in use and guide in the development of new ones.

Gender Representation: A Survey of Public Sector English Textbooks of Grades 7 and 8, KP, Pakistan

Gender representation in textbooks helps to develop the students' perceptions of gender construction. It gradually becomes ingrained in students, and they develop their perspectives on gender in society with the help of these textbooks. The represented yardsticks of masculinity and femininity directly impact the gender conception of both male and female students. The current study analyzed gender representation in the newly designed English textbooks taught in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's (KP’s) government schools. Using a mixed-method approach, the study analyzed two textbooks, one from grade 7 and the other from grade 8. The linguistic (nouns, noun phrases, pronouns, verbs, verb phrases, adjectives, and adjective phrases associated with male and female constructions) and non-linguistic (invisibility and association of roles with males and females) data was collected, analyzed, and interpreted using textual analysis. The results confirmed the androcentric portrayal of gender in the recently designed English textbooks, which mostly associate females with emotional, friendly, indoor, and dependent activities. On the contrary, it tends to associate males with heroic, intellectual, strong, brave, dominating, decisive, outdoor, and independent qualities. Apart from addressing the issue of education and gender equality, this study has implications for the concerned research community, educational institutions, and the social science disciplines along with the humanities.

GENDER REPRESENTATION IN AN INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT-ENDORSED ENGLISH TEXTBOOK

This study aims to identify the representation of gender in Indonesian government-endorsed English textbooks Specifically, the representation of gender in the textbook was essential because it depicted how society treats gender in a certain region. This study is based on a content-analysis investigation of gender representation in When English Rings the Bell SMP/MTs Kelas VII that the Indonesian government endorsed under the ministry of education. The whole data was collected through the instrument and was specified based on the need for gender representation that was made by Porrecca and was analyzed using Krippendorf's framework. This study reveals that man's representation was depicted as a strong character by depicting man as an outdoor worker with more choices of type of work. The woman's representation is depicted as a domestic worker, such as a chore. In addition, the male gender is represented as a masculine character, which is associated with types of nouns that were frequently associated with strength, wildness, and activeness, while the female gender was presented with typical nouns that were associated with beauty and passivity. The study still needs more exploration with other approaches to discover how gender is represented in the textbook.

Gender representation in government-endorsed Arabic language textbooks: Insights from Indonesia

Much research on textbook analysis has looked at diverse perspectives nested by the textbook authors, including gender equality. Although a growing body of research on gender representation in textbooks has been undertaken, there is a paucity of research on Arabic textbooks. This study aims to examine gender representation in Arabic textbooks for Islamic school students approved by the Ministry of Religion of Indonesia to fill the research gap. This research employed a case study design focusing on three textbooks. The researchers utilized thematic analysis anchored in Rifkin’s theory. The findings show that (1) gender representation in Arabic textbooks, verbally and visually, is dominated by men, (2) gender representation is visualized from six themes showing male dominance except for the theme “traveling,” which is dominated by women, and (3) the pedagogical actions that need to be taken to overcome these problems are (a) Arabic language teachers need to develop materials when using government-endorsed Arabic textbooks and (b) the Ministry of Religious Affairs should promote gender equality through recommended textbooks.

Gender representation in the textbook for vocational school students in the Indonesian EFL settings

A textbook is expected to cover all of the teaching necessities as well as educational values contained in the curriculum. Conversely, many scholars or researchers in the study of gender representation portrayed English language textbooks tend to have gender-biased in terms of gender representation in which males are represented more than females in many aspects. Hence, investigating how males and females are represented in Indonesian EFL textbooks is highly beneficial to be explored to clarify and update the finding based on the previous studies. The concern of this current study is to investigate gender representation in the Indonesian EFL textbook for vocational school students by using the framework proposed by (Amerian & Esmaili, 2014). The analysis of the data is based on critical discourse analysis and content analysis. Surprisingly, congruent with most previous studies, the finding reflects that there is inequality in terms of gender representation in which females are underrepresented in the textbook. The finding of this recent study pinpoints the depiction of how males and females are represented and depicted in the Indonesian EFL textbook, as a result, it is expected to convey the awareness of scholars, educators, textbook writers or designers, and policymakers as well related to this issue. Then, it is still highly suggested for scholars or researchers in future studies exploring gender representation in Indonesian EFL textbooks by using other books or other levels of education to evaluate the development of this issue.

Development model of gender socialization: school textbooks gender analysis in Georgia

PurposeThis study aims to explore gender equality in school textbooks in Georgia.Design/methodology/approachThe research had the following questions: To what extent are women and men visible and represented equally in school textbooks? How do school textbooks promote gender socialization of boys and girls to be treated equally in terms of power and privileges, superiority and inferiority? Do school textbooks promote critical thinking and analysis of gender issues and problems? The content analysis of the qualitative research method was used to answer the research questions.FindingsThe research revealed that males remain more visible in school textbooks; however, the authors mainly attempt to balance the gender representation in textbooks quantitatively. The textbooks do not socialize girls and boys as equals in power, privileges, superiority and inferiority. The textbooks do not provide room for discussing gender and social justice issues.Originality/valueThe study is an original work. The study contributes to the development of the field of multicultural education, as it develops the three levels model of gender socialization based on the empirical research data. The first, detection level, implies the visibility of both boys and girls equally in school textbooks. The second, the recognition level of gender socialization, acknowledges gender equality in occupations, activities and power and privileges. The third, the affirmation level, develops a critical understanding of gender issues and gender equality in society.

Teachers’ Perceptions of Gender Representation in Textbooks: Insights From Sindh, Pakistan

Gender representation in textbooks is of core importance in the classroom as textbooks are at the centre of the classroom in public sector schools in Sindh, Pakistan. This paper investigates teachers’ perceptions regarding the representation of gender in the textbooks. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 secondary school teachers in Sindh, Pakistan. The results show that most of the teachers conformed to the traditional roles of men and women. Moreover, they emphasised the need to revise textbooks as they thought textbooks had a greater influence on students. It is argued that teachers, other than a few exceptions, appear to be unaware of the influence they have on learners’ perceptions. It is recommended that teacher training need to focus on the role of the teachers with reference to the use of textbooks.

Are Progressive Texts Necessarily Disruptive? Investigating Teacher Engagement with Gendered Textbooks in Ugandan Classrooms

Background Undergirding the dominant research focus on gender representation in textbooks is the assumption that making texts progressive in their construction of gender is a panacea for equality in the classroom. As this study demonstrates, however, textbooks containing traditional representations of gender can be used to challenge biases, while textbooks with progressive representations can be undermined. This suggests that “fixing” gender in textbooks to make them progressive does not guarantee how teachers enact them in the classroom. Indeed, the predominant focus on texts, rather than teachers’ gender knowledge base, has had little impact on classroom practice. This justifies the shift to “teacher talk around the text,” which, as scholars argue, should be the focus of research. Purpose and Research Questions This study, which goes beyond the dominant focus on textbooks to draw attention to how teachers take them up, was guided by the following research questions: How do teachers use gendered textbooks in the classroom? What discourses and practices circulate? What informs teacher selection of textbooks? Is gender one of the considerations? Context The study was situated in Uganda, a multiethnic patriarchal developing country in East Africa. Research Design A qualitative case study approach was taken up with two cases, specifically an affluent girls’ single-sex school and a less affluent mixed school. This illuminated how gender is constructed in relation to other socially constructed categories. Data Collection and Analysis The investigation involved textual analysis, classroom observations, and interviews, which were analyzed using feminist poststructural discourse analysis to identify and name discourses and discursive practices cited during the classroom interactions. Findings/Results Overall, the teachers’ use of textbooks in both cases challenged previous research, which assumed that teachers necessarily take up gender as constructed in textbooks. This overlooked teachers’ gendered truths, which, as shown in my study, informed how they took up and/or rejected both traditional and transgressive texts. Traditional gendered texts, which illuminated dominant realities, surprisingly offered more disruptive potential for engaging with gendered hierarchies than did progressive texts, which constructed marginal realities and/or realities incongruent with dominant truths. Conclusions/Recommendations The study has implications for teacher education in Uganda, which should prepare teachers by unsettling the taken-for-granted gender knowledge base, through disrupting traditional gendered ways of thinking/discourses. This will create possibility for producing teachers who can critically navigate gendered texts, by deconstructing gendered power relations during classroom engagement with texts. Indeed, as research has indicated, teachers are capable of challenging gender bias if well prepared. It will also be useful for researchers to observe lessons in which expert teachers engage with gendered textbooks, providing a model to inform teacher education.

Gender representation in EFL course books explored through a corpus-based study: A case study

Introduction. Through this corpus-based case study, the authors examine gender representation in four English as a Foreign Language (ELF) course books, “Exploring English”, through a grammatical perspective. Particularly, the study observes the frequencies of pronouns ‘he’ and ‘she’, the association of fourteen action verbs with a certain gender, and differences in gender representation between Course book 3 and 4. To analyse the issue, a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) corpus is compiled with texts selected and stored individually from each course book. Materials and Methods. A mixed approach is used to collect and analyse the data for this study. By using AntConc, the study firstly retrieves the numerical data which are further analysed and interpreted qualitatively. Results. The findings suggest underrepresentation of women. In addition, certain actions were associated with a particular gender. More specifically, noticeable was the positioning of feminine pronouns with domestic activities or chores such as cooking, while masculine pronouns were linked with actions such as paying bills or repairing cars. Although both genders participated equally in dialogues, the contextual analysis of pronouns suggests that the order of mention in sentences reflects masculine supremacy. Nevertheless, the last two levels of the course books suggest a similar representation of gender as hypothesised. Conclusions. The pronoun and verb analysis in this study revealed the uneven and biased representation of gender in textbooks which is concerning for the future of education. Yet, this is only a case study and findings cannot be generalized. Lastly, the authors consider that further analysis on gender representation in the course books from other grammatical aspects would provide even more comprehensive results. Keywords Gender representation; DIY corpus; EFL course books; Pronouns; Action verbs

Stilettoed Damsels in Distress: the (un)changing depictions of gender in a business English textbook

Appropriate gender representation in textbooks is crucial for socially educating professionals who use English for work-related communication. It is further important to longitudinally understand how these textbooks keep up with changes in gender equality taking place in the real world. This study critically analyses two editions of a popular international business English textbook for equality of gender representation. Improvement in the visibility and portrayal of women and men was found between the older and newer editions. Results suggested that gender bias has reduced in the newer edition of the textbook, especially at the level of images. However, much more change is needed to bring them to the level of current equality guidelines published by government and independent organizations. The study recommends that, instead of imitating the realities of the world, textbooks developers must consider presenting scenarios that societies aim to achieve. Furthermore, in the absence of gender equality in textbooks, stereotypical depictions of gender need to be discussed critically in classrooms.

Cleaning mums and brave policemen: gender representation and gender-inclusive language in EFL teaching materials in Lithuania

Gender representation in textbooks used for teaching English as a foreign or second language (EFL/ESL) has been analysed extensively and in various countries since the 1980s. According to most studies (e.g. Hellinger 1980; Porreca 1984; Ansary and Babaji 2003; Pihlaja 2007; Lee 2016), females tend to be underrepresented and depicted in stereotypical ways, which risks reinforcing gender clichés in students (Britton and Lumpkin 1977; Peterson and Lach 1990). To date, only a few studies (Brusokaitė and Verikaitė-Gaigalienė 2015) have focused on gender representation in teaching materials used in Lithuania; moreover, teaching materials other than textbooks remain underexplored. Using corpus analysis tools and criteria adapted from previous analyses of gender representation and language use in textbooks, this study takes a both quantitative and qualitative approach to the analysis of two EFL exercise books and two EFL test books published in Lithuania between 2005 and 2017 and currently available on the Lithuanian book market. More precisely, areas of investigation were the numerical visibility of males and females, stereotypical contexts in which characters appear, and strategies used by the authors to make the language more gender-inclusive.
 The results show that males are more visible numerically: not only are there more male than female characters in all four books, males are also more likely to be named first in paired constructions. With regard to stereotypical contexts, both males and females tend to be represented in traditional gender roles: males are typically represented as leaders, the breadwinners of the family and the main decision-makers; females, on the other hand, are depicted as working in stereotypically female professions or in the home domain, and they are more often described as weak, fearful and in need of assistance. Moreover, there is very little variation with regard to the traditional image of a family, typically consisting of a mother, a father and two to three children. As for the use of gender-inclusive language, the use of certain (e.g. naming both male and female pronouns when referring to a person of unknown gender), yet not all available strategies (e.g. singular they) could be observed. These findings suggest that the authors were heavily influenced by the strategies that exist for the Lithuanian language. The language used in the four books can, therefore, be said to differ to some extent from both actual language use (Pauwels 2001; Romaine 2001; Baker 2010) and the language used in teaching materials employed in countries where English is spoken as a first or second language (Jacobs 1999). Finally, this article recommends authors of future teaching materials to pay more attention to the representation of males and females and to also give importance to deviation from what is generally seen as the norm. Arguably, this would provide children with a more truthful picture of contemporary British and North American societies, and help to teach them that diversity is a positive feature.

GENDER REPRESENTATION IN MATHEMATICS TEXTBOOKS IN AZAD JAMMU & KASHMIR

Gender representation in textbooks has been a subject of academic research and debate the world over. Nevertheless, in the developing world in general and Azad Jammu and Kashmir in particular, gender representation in textbooks, especially in Mathematics textbooks, has not received due academic attention. This study examined gender representation in Mathematics textbooks used in primary schools in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The main focus was to examine whether or not Mathematics textbooks reproduce or challenge the stereotypical representation of men’s and women’s activities and social roles. Following the procedure of content analysis of a school material, adopted by the feminists of the second-wave, both quantitative and qualitative content analyses were employed for the current research. The analysis of the gender representation in 5 Mathematics textbooks from class 1 to class 5 unpacked that Mathematics textbooks, reinforce and reproduce gender stereotypes by portraying men/boys in the public domain (playing games, driving, running shops, doing and investing in businesses etc.) and women /girls in the private domain of home (engaged in cooking, home decoration, helping out their children in homework etc.). The overall inference made from the content analyses was that the mathematics textbooks used in the primary schools of Azad Jammu and Kashmir represent public domain as men’s world while women/girls are depicted in the private domain of home engaged in cooking, raring children and other domestic chores.

Depictions of Human Bodies in the Illustrations of Early Childhood Textbooks

In many Ibero-American countries children in the early childhood education (ECE) system have the opportunity to interact with textbooks on a regular basis. The powerful social function of textbooks in socializing children in primary and secondary school, and in legitimizing what counts as cultural norms and officially sanctioned values and knowledge, is clearly documented. However, the examination of ECE textbooks especially in the context of developing countries for messages about the social construction of the body is virtually nonexistent. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to examine, through a content analysis of the illustrations, the representation of the body across the different categories of gender, age, activity level, space and disability in eight Colombian ECE textbooks from the three major commercial publishing houses between 2009 and 2012. Our results show that these textbook authors and publishers have made an effort to promote equality between the genders. However, only four disabled people were portrayed in the illustrations and there was a lower proportion of older adults doing a limited range of gross motor activities. Likewise the results note that, although progress has been made in terms of the balance of gender representation in textbooks, these still reinforce and legitimize the status of the “able-body”, and contribute to consolidating a view of able-bodiedness as the dominant norm. Taking into account that beliefs and prejudices constitute barriers to education and social participation, these results suggest that the representation of children with disabilities in ECE textbooks at the earliest stages of education should be mandatory.

Gender representation in Hong Kong primary school ELT textbooks – a comparative study

This article seeks to investigate whether the improvement of the status of women in Hong Kong in recent decades, effected through various efforts to promote the values of equal opportunity concepts, is reflected in patterns of gender representation in primary school textbooks used in Hong Kong. A comparison of a popular series of primary school English-language textbooks that was published in 2005 with the same series published in 1988 (12 books in total) revealed increase in gender equity in the more recent books, including increased visibility of women both visually and textually. Nevertheless, the findings also revealed a perpetuation of some stereotyped images of the two genders and portrayals of women in a more limited range of social roles than men. The ‘male-first’ phenomenon and the visual and textual under-representation of women were still prevalent in the contemporary textbooks. The potential impacts on children of unbalanced gender representation in textbooks are discussed within the framework of social cognitive theory.

Gender Representation in Current EFL Textbooks in Iranian Secondary Schools

This study investigates gender representation in current EFL textbooks ( Right Path to English I and II) that are designed locally and taught as an obligatory subject in Iranian secondary schools. Two methods of analysis were performed. First, these textbooks were subjected to a systematic quantitative analysis with reference to: (1) gender visibility in both text and illustrations and (2) female/male-oriented topic presentation in dialogues and reading passages. Second, a qualitative analysis was undertaken by concentrating on four components of gender-role modelling: (1) male-centred language including: (a) firstness and (b) masculine generic construction; (2) gender-linked occupation possibilities; (3) distribution of household responsibilities, and (4) distribution of spare time and leisure activities. The findings revealed the degree of imbalance in gender representation in these textbooks. The paper concludes by addressing the implications of gender imbalance depicted in the textbooks for learners’ perceptions.