Gender representations in Science direction school textbooks in Class 5th and 6th of Primary school
Abstract
The aim of the current study is the detection of the features that make up the presence of the gender in the Science direction school textbooks in the primary school. Specifically, the tested school textbooks –books and workbooks- are those of Mathematics, Physics and Geography of the last two classes in the primary school. School textbooks have a two-fold role. On the one hand, they constitute a tool which helps the access to the knowledge and, on the other hand, they contribute to the perceptions’ and ideologies’ adoption on behalf of the students. For this reason, the way in which the genders are depicted in the school textbooks in the primary school is considered significant to be studied. At first, there is a short preview of the researches which took place in Greece and abroad and explored the way in which the gender is depicted at school, in the wider educational community and in school textbooks. The findings of the researches accentuate the existing inequality in the boys’ and girls’ presentation in the Science direction school textbooks, and the deviation that is observed between the genders in the performance on the above subjects. The method used to edit and explore textbooks was through the content analysis. After studying the textbooks thoroughly, the four to be explored categories were located and defined. The findings of the study showed that the Science direction school textbooks in the primary school present, even today, stereotype perceptions about the gender. Through the results it is projected that men appear more often, have primary roles and leadership positions and are occupied in all kinds of occupations. On the contrary, women appear less, are occupied in more traditional tasks and are presented weaker and more vulnerable. Although the current school textbooks, in comparison with the older ones, dare to have a more just presentation of the female gender and a greater female participation in the professional and social realm, this effort still remains limited and fragmentary. There are still stereotypes between the two genders and the holistic deconstruction of the gendered representations has not been achieved. However, it is expected to be realised the way in which school textbooks are used by each teacher, whose attitude should promote the equality between boys and girls inside and outside the classroom. Lastly, there are shown actions which aim at the teachers’ awareness towards gender issues.
Article Details
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Πλιόγκου Β., Κανταρτζή Ε., & Τριανταφύλλου Μ. (2017). Gender representations in Science direction school textbooks in Class 5th and 6th of Primary school. Hellenic Journal of Research in Education, 6(1), 140–160. https://doi.org/10.12681/hjre.11940
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- Vol. 6 No. 1 (2017)
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