Reproduction of gender roles in curricula Case Study: sixth grade social studies textbook of primary school

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD holder in Curriculum development, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.

2 M. A. holder in Curriculum development, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran.

3 M. A. holder in Primary Education, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran.

Abstract

Background and Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the reproduction of gender roles in the sixth-grade social studies textbook of primary school. Methods: To achieve this goal, the content of the textbook was analyzed across four gender components: male and female, parents, relatives, and job roles, utilizing quantitative content analysis techniques. In this study, a sample equal to the population was considered due to its nature, and the entire content of the textbook was analyzed. The reliability of the coding was established through consensus among three researchers. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data, and the chi-square test was employed for analysis. Findings: The results revealed that across all four gender components examined, males were the predominant gender, except for the portrayal of parents in images and text related to questions, activities, and exercises, where mothers were more prominently featured. Overall, the authors emphasized a male-centric view of the father. Conclusion: The overarching conclusion is that, despite the seventh principle of the national curriculum titled "Attention to Differences, " this textbook has not provided equal and appropriate attention to gender differences, necessitating greater focus from curriculum developers and authors in future revisions of the content.

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Journal of research in curriculum studies
Volume 4, Issue 1 - Serial Number 6
August 2024
Pages 150-162

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