Representations In Textbooks Research Articles

Critical discourse analysis of cultural representations in EFL national commercial textbooks

Mastering grammar and vocabulary in communication are seemingly insufficient for learners to communicate with different societies worldwide. For this rationale, cultures in ELT materials took a pivotal role in equipping learners with intercultural communicative competence (ICC). Hence, the researchers critically analyze two national commercial textbooks commonly used in senior high schools for the tenth and eleventh grades in any area to examine the elements of cultures and their representations. The researchers address this gap by adopting critical discourse analysis (CDA) to get a profound interpretation of data. The textual data was categorized, coded, counted, and finalized by creating a description. The result revealed that these textbooks contained elements of cultures; product (63%, 44%), person (13%, 42%), practice (19 %, 8%), and perspective (5%, 6%) in different proportions. The result also points out that there is an unbalance among culture-related items with 59%, 51% in source cultures, 11% and 26% in target, and 17% and 8% in international, which means target and international cultures are less than source cultures. This research also found universal cultures relating to cultures free in these textbooks with 13% and 18%, respectively. The finding indicated that both textbooks have imbalanced cultures, which means that target and international cultures were under-represented. The researchers suggest that other Southeast Asian, African, and Russian cultures must be considered in the textbooks. Furthermore, this research expects the stakeholders to be more concerned with designing, concerning, and choosing suitable textbooks to equip learners with diverse cultures.

Equal sign representations in curriculum and textbooks in middle schools and students’ understanding of equal sign

The aim of the current study was to investigate fourth and fifth grade students’ equal sign conceptions in the light of the revised Turkish mathematics curriculum (MoNE, 2018) that includes newly added objectives related to the equal sign concept in fourth grade. A total of 53 students (30 fourth-grade students) participated in the study. Equal sign test (EST) was used for quantitative data collection. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain a deeper insight into the students’ equal sign conceptions. Moreover, the fourth and fifth grade students’ textbooks and other course materials were analysed in terms of equal sign contextual presentations. According to the quantitative analysis results, the average score of fifth-grade students was 11.21 whereas the fourth-grade students’ average score was 8.13 out of 13 in the EST. The analysis of the course materials displayed that standard contextual presentations of the equal sign, which are only helpful for teaching the operational view, have higher frequencies in fourth grade, whereas non-standard presentations are dramatically high in fifth grade. The results of the semi-structured interviews supported that both the fourth and fifth grade students have some misunderstandings of the relational meaning according to the error patterns found in the EST results.

"Fear, greed, and dedication": the representation of self-entrepreneurship in international English textbooks

A number of studies have reported neoliberal representation in English textbooks in a variety of contexts around the world. However, the study focusing on self-entrepreneurship as one of the critical neoliberal tenets is scantily addressed. To fill this void, the present study seeks to investigate the representation of self-entrepreneurship deliberately inculcated in English textbooks. Anchored in critical discourse analysis and Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), this study investigated three Business English textbooks used in higher education in Indonesian. The findings of the study revealed that the English textbooks employed role-playing, presenting celebrity and fame, exhibiting famous entrepreneur figures, presenting the distinct image of entrepreneurial figures, and portraying entrepreneur figures through article or literature to disseminate self-entrepreneurship notions displayed in a variety of discourses. The findings of the current study call to equip educational practitioners (e.g., teachers, policymakers, book designers) with critical thinking skills as well as provide them practical tools to interrogate ideology, norms, and values encapsulated within curriculum artefacts such as language textbooks.

Guiding Science and Mathematics Learning when Students Construct Representations

There is a long tradition of teaching science through inquiry, with broad agreement about the form it should take. Students should investigate researchable questions; gather and analyse data; and develop and represent evidence-based claims. Authoritative teacher or textbook representations are generally used to guide this learning (Buckley & Boulter, 2000; Bybee, 1997; Furtak et al., 2012; Sell et al., 2006). Parallel to this approach, teachers have also guided students to construct, review and refine their own representations, leading to learning gains. However, this student representation construction approach poses new challenges for teachers. The teacher is expected to elicit and guide students’ reasoning about their own represented claims as an orientation to understanding and learning scientific forms of reasoning and their representation. In this paper, drawing on our initial account of this pedagogy, we aim to clarify further this approach’s rationale and teacher strategies and underlying purposes in key early stages of exploration in the topics of chemistry and mathematics with a Grade 5 class. An interdisciplinary focus was used to guide students’ learning about the science concepts of states of matter, evaporation and the mathematical concepts of formal and informal measurement and data representation. Analysed data included video capture of the teacher’s guidance of tasks and classroom discussion, student artefacts and teacher and student interviews. We identify how the teacher framed the task, oriented student inquiry and guided evaluation of students’ representations through implicit and explicit instruction.

Women Representation in Indonesian ELT Textbook: A Comparative Study of Junior and Senior High School ELT textbook

This study aims to analyze female characters’ visibility by comparing two junior high school textbooks (VII and IX) and two senior high school English textbooks (X and XII). This research used social context parameters such as (1) family (2) occupations (3) school participation and achievement, and (4) hobbies and interests. The findings shows some differences between female and male characters in the texts and illustrations in JHS and SHS ELT textbooks. The result found there are some significant differences of female representation in the ELT textbooks for JHS and SHS.

Gendered representations in Jordanian textbooks: A combined quantitative and qualitative analysis based on UNESCO guidelines for the promotion of gender equality

Recent studies describe Jordan as a context where the encounter between modernity and tradition in the framework of neo-liberal transformations in the labour market have brought about paradoxes affecting women’s lives. Despite several policies to implement gender equality introduced by the government, the rapid reduction of the gender gap in education experienced in the last decades is slow to be carried over into areas of social and economic life. Stemming from this backdrop, this article aims at contributing to the scholarly discussion about the influence of patriarchal constructs in Jordanian educational and labour market. The article considers textbooks as tools for social change and focuses on qualitative and quantitative analysis of a sample of most recent student books addressing the entry, middle and final stages of primary education in mathematics. By providing a detailed analysis of gendered representations in the sample, the article highlights the implementation of relevant strategies to safeguard gender inclusion and equity. At the same time, it points at the underrepresentation of female role models and at the reiteration of some stereotypical social constructs, especially representing women as alienated from specific working sectors as the vocational one.

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.

Defining radian: provoked concept definitions of radian angle measure

ABSTRACT Despite the use of axiomatic definitions for mathematical concepts, scholars struggle to produce a single definition of angle that does not have some limitations. Textbooks’ treatment of angle and its measure reflects this multifaceted nature of the angle concept while informing the different ways learners conceive of these concepts. In this study, I investigated the concept definitions provoked by textbook representations (e.g. diagrams) of radian angle measure. Seven prospective mathematics teachers (PMTs) participated in a think-aloud semi-structured interview and defined radian angle measure through examining six diagrams. A thematic analysis of concept definitions indicated that interacting with different representations provoked various concept definitions. Some provoked concept definitions focused on defining one radian. Other definitions indicated different quantitative operations (e.g. iteration, partitioning, proportionality). To provide learners opportunities to conceptualise radian angle measure quantitatively, teachers and curriculum developers are encouraged to incorporate multiple representations of radian angle measure into instructional materials.

Sex and race visual representation in emergency medicine textbooks and the hidden curriculum.

In addition to formal training, informal training often occurs through a hidden curriculum. As the hidden curriculum shapes the knowledge and values held by learners, we must consider its role in implicit bias. One example is through the selection of images used in formal instruction. This study aimed to examine the representation of sex and race among images in two textbooks in emergency medicine (EM). We performed a cross-sectional study of the sex and race representation of figures in Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice 9th Edition and Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide 9th Edition. Two reviewers screened all images for inclusion, with disagreements resolved by a third reviewer. Images were excluded if they did not include visualized skin. Two reviewers independently reviewed each image and assessed the sex, race, and roles in the image. A third reviewer resolved any disagreements. A total of 959 images (Rosen's n=377; Tintinalli's n=582) met inclusion criteria. Race was estimated in 877 cases (91.3%). Of those, White individuals comprised 77.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 75.0%-80.2%). Sex was estimated in 362 cases (37.7%). Of those images, males comprised 70.2% (95% CI 65.4%-74.9%), and females comprised 29.8% (95% CI 25.1%-34.6%). There is a male sex and White race predominance in visual representation among two EM textbooks. We propose a call to action for the mindful selection of images in formal education to represent diversity, equity, and inclusion and close the gap between the formal and hidden curriculum.

Gender Representations in the Greek Primary School Language Textbooks: Synthesizing Content with Critical Discourse Analysis

School textbooks are media of communicating a large amount of knowledge and teachers rely their teaching practices and schedule their instructions upon them. Except for knowledge on school subjects, textbooks also promote various ideological messages, including gender representations. This study explores gender representations in the Greek primary school language textbook addressed to the first grade, which is currently being taught. For this purpose, Content Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis are employed in synergy, as Content Analysis on its own is insufficient to fully explore gender representations and the ideologies of school textbook discourse. The results showed clearly that traditional gender representations are reproduced in the particular textbook, by presenting men dominating in the public sphere, and leading women’s lives and their families.

“Can we stop cleaning the house and make some food, Mum?”: A critical investigation of gender representation in China's English textbooks

This study offers a critical investigation of gender representation in China's English textbooks to examine potential gender bias. We analyzed a series of middle school English textbooks in Jiangsu Province to examine the feminine-masculine pronouns ratio, occupational/social roles and activities associated with people of different gender. Approximately balanced occurrences of feminine and masculine pronouns were identified in the corpus, suggesting rising gender-fair awareness. We further scrutinized the gender roles and activities by coding all female and male characters’ occupational/social roles and identifying associated activities thematically. We observed that gender disparity is still pervasive as females were frequently assigned with familial relationships and engaged in less physically-demanding activities, whereas males were portrayed in wider social roles and frequently depicted in sport-related activities. Thus, we suggest a critical approach both in identifying and subverting gender stereotypes in textbook design.

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.

Examining the role of Pakistan’s national curriculum textbook discourses on normalising the Taliban’s violence in the USA’s Post 9/11 war on terror in South Waziristan, Pakistan

ABSTRACT This qualitative study analyses the discourses of Islamic Studies textbook to problematise its role in schoolchildren’s radicalisation, and normalisation of violence, in the post 9/11 situation in the Taliban’s stronghold, South Waziristan. The textbook findings are further substantiated by the field data collected from 40 students of grades 9 and 10, who studied the sampled textbook in the post 9/11 situation. Students’ perspectives, which relate their pedagogical experiences of the textbook in public schools, were gathered employing 16 in-depth individual interviews and 8 focus group discussions. Taking insights from Apple and Ball’s concepts of ‘legitimate knowledge’ and ‘normalisation’ respectively, the findings suggest that the sampled textbook strongly inspired a particular kind of Jihad (holy war), created hate-based ‘believers/Muslims’ versus ‘non-believers/Kuffar’ binaries, and profiled communities in opposition to each other. The students strongly identified with the discursive textbook representations, and participated in Jihad both as the Taliban commanders and foot soldiers. Some of them died young, however, the majority survived of which some recanted. Notwithstanding external influences, the study underlines the role that the textbook discourses and their pedagogical practices in schools played in radicalising the whole generation of schoolchildren and normalising the Taliban fronted violence in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

Content analysis of visual representations in biology textbooks across selected educational boards from Asia

The aim of the present study was to explore the nature of visual representations in biology textbooks across five educational boards across Asia through quantitative and qualitative content analysis. Descriptive statistics was used during the quantitative analysis. Qualitative content analysis involved a deductive approach where visuals in these textbooks were examined and categorized into different categories based on a newly developed typology and taxonomy of visual representation (coding scheme). Under this newly developed typology and taxonomy (coding scheme), visuals in biology textbooks can be categorized into 19 different categories. The findings of the study summarized the characteristics of visual representation usage in these textbooks in terms of their prevalence, distributional differences and trends. Through this study, a new perspective on the taxonomy and classification of visual representations, especially for biology textbooks, has been proposed. Biology teachers and textbook authors can gain insights through the findings of the study.

The portrayal of women in Indonesian national physics textbooks: a textual analysis

ABSTRACT There are many studies related to gender representation in science textbooks. However, less attention has been paid to the ways in which physics textbooks portray women: how women are situated in occupations or works, laboratory activities, and achievements, or to their characters in relation to women’s stuff. This textual analysis aims to fill the gap by investigating representations of women in three Indonesian physics textbooks as empirical evidence compared to the dominant representations of men. We have found evidence that textbook writers have been sufficiently aware of gender equality to make efforts to represent both men and women. However, most representations of women, either as agents (i.e. scientists) or as patients, have been obviously stereotyped in images and text. The empirical evidence suggests that physics textbook authors and curriculum designers would benefit from greater awareness of stereotypes that represent imbalanced gender roles for women as well as for men. Avoiding gender stereotyping is essential, as physics textbooks not only provide theoretical and practical knowledge but also demonstrate embedded values, such as gender equality.

Gender representation in EFL textbooks used in state schools in Northern Iraq and teachers’ perceptions of gender role stereotypes

ABSTRACT This study investigates the extent of the gender representation and stereotyping in Sunrise textbook series (1–12) taught in state schools, primary and high school in Northern Iraq and teachers’ perceptions about gender role stereotypes. The research aims to ascertain how gender is represented and what kinds of stereotypes expressions are used in the Sunrise series by focusing on four areas; Adult Social Role Beliefs, Domestic Role Beliefs, Educational Role Beliefs, and Professional Role Beliefs concerning school type variables. To this end, a quantitative content analysis approach was used. Besides, a questionnaire was administered to 390 teachers to find out their perceptions of gender role stereotypes. The results of the textbooks analysis revealed that although some aspects depicted a gender-neutral representation, males were dominantly used in the majority of text examples and illustrations due to cultural issues. Females were portrayed as having passive and domestic roles in line with the fact that traditional gender ideology exists in high schools as there are separate facilities for boys and girls. The findings of the study have pedagogical implications for the development of gender-neutral textbooks and also provide education authorities and language policymakers with recommendations for the establishment of a gender-free society.

Gender Representation in English Textbooks: A Qualitative Synthesis of Current Research in China

Textbooks are not only the main carrier of knowledge but also the major vehicle that embody the social culture, values and ideology. The presentation of gender in textbooks can play an important role in the formation of individual gender perceptions. In the past two decades, studies on gender representation in English textbooks were found conducted vastly across the globe, and nearly all of which have revealed gender stereotypes and gender bias as well as their further impact on students' gender value. This review was conducted in December 2021 using CNKI database. In this review, eleven studies focused on gender representation in English textbooks that conducted in the Chinese teaching context were identified. Research subjects, the theoretical foundations, the research designs, findings and suggestions were analyzed. Suggestions as well as implications related to future research were provided. It is recommended first that the scope of research objects should be expanded, covering English textbooks for childhood education, higher education and vocational education and so forth. Further, researchers shall conduct more comparative studies, including comparison of different versions of textbooks published in China as well as the comparison of different textbooks at home and abroad. Finally, it’s highly suggested to collect data from decision-makers as well as stakeholders in the educational process.

A Corpus Study of Gender Representation in Chinese Secondary School EFL Textbooks

A Corpus Study of Gender Representation in Chinese Secondary School EFL Textbooks

A multimodal approach to the technological representations in CFL textbooks

AbstractThe study scrutinizes the intermodal relations and interactive meaning-making of the textual and visual semiotics involved in modern technology representation, which indicates the engagement of authentic communication in language learning. The findings show that both textbooks show attempts to capture the up-to-date technology of modern life. Learners tend to be involved with the interpretation of the indexical relations between the visual and textual resources in one textbook, while the other textbook consists of a few texts and images that are not indexically related and are less likely to be interpreted interactively. Findings indicate the importance of being aware of the different emphases of these two textbooks through multimodal research, for the purpose of effective adaptations in CFL teaching and learning.

Gender Stereotypes in Teaching Aids on Russian as a Foreign Language for Beginners

The paper brings up the issue of reflecting gender roles in textbooks for international students, investigates which concepts of men and women they can potentially form among foreign students on the basis of these teaching aids. The aim of the present study is to describe the gender roles of men and women in the textbooks of the Russian language for beginners. For that, it was necessary to solve a number of tasks, such as fixing examples of gender-characterized units in teaching aids; creating a system of categories for comparison and comparing the analysis results of all involved textbooks. The following methods of qualitative content analysis, classification method, comparison method were used in the work. Popular textbooks on Russian as a foreign language were taken for the analysis. This study makes it possible to investigate gender roles in Russian culture through the spectacle of the textbooks for foreigners, allowing us to get a new angle on the correlation of gender characteristics. The study can also be used by future textbook authors to further develop textbook characters in terms of their gender roles. The authors of the study conclude that textbook representations convey stereotypic ideas about the roles of men and women, but these images cannot be recognized as corresponding to extra-linguistic reality, which can potentially result in communication failures among foreign students when interacting with Russians.