Stereotypical Representation of Women in Junior High School Textbook: A Study of the Textbook “English” Published by Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press

Research Article
Open access

Stereotypical Representation of Women in Junior High School Textbook: A Study of the Textbook “English” Published by Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press

Lan Huang 1*
  • 1 Shenzhen University    
  • *corresponding author 2020072029@email.szu.edu.cn
Published on 26 October 2023 | https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7048/17/20231264
LNEP Vol.17
ISSN (Print): 2753-7056
ISSN (Online): 2753-7048
ISBN (Print): 978-1-83558-059-2
ISBN (Online): 978-1-83558-060-8

Abstract

Supervised by SDG goals (Gender Equality and Quality Education) and renewed national standards, China is performing an ongoing reformation of education curriculum, aiming to eradicate gender discrimination of all kinds—including the omission and stereotyped representation of females in textbooks. To undo the historical preconceptions towards females and build impartial cognition in students, this paper demonstrates a critical approach to exam and refine the acclaimed textbook English (SFP Oxford Edition). The research adopted data collected by Sheng to testify the low participation of female figures in this textbook, and by deep down analyzing the contents of all six textbooks, the prescribed occupation for women, the inadequate representation of motherhood and heroine, and the omission of minority groups have been revealed. This research deconstructed the widely-used textbook in China, raised and categorized problems on equal and precise gender representation, which will guide and facilitate the development and iteration towards ideal textbook.

Keywords:

EFL education (English as a foreign language), textbook studies, stereotypes, junior high school

Huang,L. (2023). Stereotypical Representation of Women in Junior High School Textbook: A Study of the Textbook “English” Published by Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,17,293-303.
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References

[1]. Sheng, J. (2022). On Gender Culture in English Textbooks: Take the Eighth-grade Textbooks of PEP Edition and SEP Oxford Edition as Examples [the Requirements for the Master’s degree, Sichuan International Studies University]. https://d.wanfangdata.com.cn/thesis/ChJUaGVzaXNOZXdTMjAyMzAxMTISCUQwMjY2MDQyMBoINHFiN2pmeWY=

[2]. Zhao, P. (2014). Mother and I. Chinese Education & Society, 36(3), 27-33. https://doi.org/10.2753/ced1061-1932360327

[3]. Shi, Z., Liu, F., Yang, Y., Li, H., Wang, G., Dong, G., & Zhang, H. (2022). Multiple Factors Affecting the Historical Development of Agriculture in the Hei River Basin, Northwestern China. Environmental Archaeology, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/14614103.2022.2031837

[4]. Wang, Y. (2014). From Dutiful Wife and Good Mother to Professional Woman? Chinese Education & Society, 36(3), 10-18. https://doi.org/10.2753/ced1061-1932360310

[5]. Makhetha, T. (2015). Men and masculinities in contemporary China. Norma, 10(2), 185-187. https://doi.org/10.1080/18902138.2015.1050867

[6]. Zhang, M. (2000). The characteristics of Chinese female education and its cross-century development trend. Journal of Northeast Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences)(1), 79. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1001-6201.2000.01.016

[7]. Abidah, S. w., & Sutama, P. (2019). Gender Representation in English Textbook Used in Grade x of Senior High School. Linguistika: Buletin Ilmiah Program Magister Linguistik Universitas Udayana.

[8]. Johansson, S., & Malmsjö, K. (2009). Gender Bias in EFL Textbook Dialogues. http://www.pdfdrive.net/gender-bias-in-efl-textbook-dialogues-malmö-högskola-d7795299.html.

[9]. Yang, K. (2016). Comparative Analysis of Characters between Go for it and JHE. Time Education(13), 250,258. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1672-8181.2016.13.187

[10]. Rudi, H. (2020). Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Gender Representation in Primary School English Textbooks [A Dissertation Submitted for the Degree of Master, Chang’an University]. https://d.wanfangdata.com.cn/thesis/ChJUaGVzaXNOZXdTMjAyMzAxMTISCUQwMjI3NjY3MxoINHFoYzUyZzc

[11]. Yang, Y. (2020). Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of Gender in Advance with English [the Requirements for the degree of Master of Education, Hunan University ]. https://d.wanfangdata.com.cn/thesis/ChJUaGVzaXNOZXdTMjAyMzAxMTISCUQwMjE5MDQ2MRoIZ205cDEzNmM=

[12]. Barton, A., & Sakwa, L. N. (2012). The representation of gender in English textbooks in Uganda. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 20(2), 173-190. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2012.669394

[13]. Wen, S. (2020/2021). Gender Stereotypes in Chinese Primary English Textbooks: A Study of a Widely Used 6th Grade Textbook BRITISH COUNCIL.

[14]. Chen, W., Xyu, Y., Gao, Y., Sun, X., Wang, H., & Su, H. (2001). The development of agriculture and policies of physiocracy and commerce suppressing in ancient China. Reference Teaching to Middle School History (11), 46-50.

[15]. Wei, F., & Guo, J. (2014). Study on the root causes and solutions of inequality between men and women. Reform and opening up, No.384(03), 67-68. https://doi.org/10.16653/j.cnki.32-1034/f.2014.03.035

[16]. Feng, A. (2018). The change of the Woman’s Family Role in Modern Society–From “a Virtuous Wife and Devoted Mother” to “a Part of Conjugal Harmony”. Journal of Taiyuan University of Technology (Social Science Edition), 36(04), 68-73.

[17]. Wang, W. (2016). Gender Role Stereotypes in Chinese Primary School Textbooks. Asian Journal of Women's Studies, 4(4), 39-59. https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.1998.11665833

[18]. Wang, Y., Yu, X., & Chen, Q. (2019). Translation and negotiation of gender stereotypes: metamorphosis of female characters in the English version of a Chinese classical novel. Perspectives, 28(5), 702-716. https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676x.2019.1663887

[19]. Cheng, C. (1991). New dimensions of confucian and neo-confucian philosophy. Alban: State University of New York Press.

[20]. Zurndorfer, H. T. (2018). Waves of Publications on Chinese Women and Gender Studies. NORA - Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 26(4), 357-366. https://doi.org/10.1080/08038740.2018.1528998

[21]. Heather M. Gerling, W. A.-H. C. C. L. (2019). Fractured modernization: cultural and structural predictors of attitudes on gender equality. International Review of Sociology. https://doi.org/10.1080/03906701.2019.1614294

[22]. Bisi, S. (2002). Female Criminality and Gender Difference. International Review of Sociology, 12(1), 23-43. https://doi.org/10.1080/03906700220135309

[23]. Halliday, C. S., Paustian-Underdahl, S. C., Stride, C., & Zhang, H. (2022). Retaining Women in Male-Dominated Occupations across Cultures: The Role of Supervisor Support and Psychological Safety. Human Performance, 35(3-4), 156-177. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959285.2022.2050234

[24]. Aikman, S., Halai, A., & Rubagiza, J. (2011). Conceptualising gender equality in research on education quality. Comparative Education, 47(1), 45-60. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2011.541675

[25]. Rönnlund, M., Bergström, P., & Tieva, Å. (2021). Teaching in a non-traditional classroom: experiences from a teacher-initiated design project. Teachers and Teaching, 27(7), 587-601. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2021.1977274

[26]. Xiong, T., & Qian, Y. (2012). Ideologies of English in a Chinese high school EFL textbook: a critical discourse analysis. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 32(1), 75-92. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2012.655239

[27]. Xiang, R., & Yenika-Agbaw, V. (2019). EFL textbooks, culture and power: a critical content analysis of EFL textbooks for ethnic Mongols in China. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 42(4), 327-341. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2019.1692024

[28]. Foroutan, Y. (2012). Gender representation in school textbooks in Iran: The place of languages. Current Sociology, 60, 771 - 787.

[29]. Lyu, X. (2018). An Investigation and Analysis of the Cultural Content of the Textbooks for Junior Middle Schools Published by Shanghai Education Press [A thesis submitted to Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Master degree ].

[30]. Canale, G., & Furtado, V. (2021). Gender in EFL Education: Negotiating Textbook Discourse in the Classroom. Changing English, 28(1), 58-71. https://doi.org/10.1080/1358684x.2020.1812377

[31]. Lee, J. F. K. (2014). Gender representation in Hong Kong primary school ELT textbooks – a comparative study. Gender and Education, 26(4), 356-376. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2014.916400

[32]. Lee, J. F. K. (2016). Gender representation in Japanese EFL textbooks – a corpus study. Gender and Education, 30(3), 379-395. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2016.1214690

[33]. Jiang, Y. (2021). The Evaluation research of Reading Texts of Junior Middle School English Textbooks Published by Shanghai Education Edition [A thesis submitted for the Master's degree, Shenyang Normal University].

[34]. Krippendorff, K. (2019). Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology (Fourth Edition ed.) https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071878781

[35]. Brugeilles, C., Cromer, S., & Unesco. (2009). Promoting gender equality through textbooks: a methodological guide.http://lst-iiep.iiep-unesco.org/cgi-bin/wwwi32.exe/[in=epidoc1.in]/?t2000=025724/(100).

[36]. Hong, Z.-W., Chen, Y.-L., & Lan, C.-H. (2012). A courseware to script animated pedagogical agents in instructional material for elementary students in English education. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 27(5), 379-394. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2012.733712

Cite this article

Huang,L. (2023). Stereotypical Representation of Women in Junior High School Textbook: A Study of the Textbook “English” Published by Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,17,293-303.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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Volume title: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Educational Innovation and Philosophical Inquiries

ISBN：978-1-83558-059-2(Print) / 978-1-83558-060-8(Online)
Editor：Javier Cifuentes-Faura, Enrique Mallen
Conference website: https://www.iceipi.org/
Conference date: 7 August 2023
Series: Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media
Volume number: Vol.17
ISSN：2753-7048(Print) / 2753-7056(Online)

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References

[1]. Sheng, J. (2022). On Gender Culture in English Textbooks: Take the Eighth-grade Textbooks of PEP Edition and SEP Oxford Edition as Examples [the Requirements for the Master’s degree, Sichuan International Studies University]. https://d.wanfangdata.com.cn/thesis/ChJUaGVzaXNOZXdTMjAyMzAxMTISCUQwMjY2MDQyMBoINHFiN2pmeWY=

[2]. Zhao, P. (2014). Mother and I. Chinese Education & Society, 36(3), 27-33. https://doi.org/10.2753/ced1061-1932360327

[3]. Shi, Z., Liu, F., Yang, Y., Li, H., Wang, G., Dong, G., & Zhang, H. (2022). Multiple Factors Affecting the Historical Development of Agriculture in the Hei River Basin, Northwestern China. Environmental Archaeology, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/14614103.2022.2031837

[4]. Wang, Y. (2014). From Dutiful Wife and Good Mother to Professional Woman? Chinese Education & Society, 36(3), 10-18. https://doi.org/10.2753/ced1061-1932360310

[5]. Makhetha, T. (2015). Men and masculinities in contemporary China. Norma, 10(2), 185-187. https://doi.org/10.1080/18902138.2015.1050867

[6]. Zhang, M. (2000). The characteristics of Chinese female education and its cross-century development trend. Journal of Northeast Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences)(1), 79. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1001-6201.2000.01.016

[7]. Abidah, S. w., & Sutama, P. (2019). Gender Representation in English Textbook Used in Grade x of Senior High School. Linguistika: Buletin Ilmiah Program Magister Linguistik Universitas Udayana.

[8]. Johansson, S., & Malmsjö, K. (2009). Gender Bias in EFL Textbook Dialogues. http://www.pdfdrive.net/gender-bias-in-efl-textbook-dialogues-malmö-högskola-d7795299.html.

[9]. Yang, K. (2016). Comparative Analysis of Characters between Go for it and JHE. Time Education(13), 250,258. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1672-8181.2016.13.187

[10]. Rudi, H. (2020). Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Gender Representation in Primary School English Textbooks [A Dissertation Submitted for the Degree of Master, Chang’an University]. https://d.wanfangdata.com.cn/thesis/ChJUaGVzaXNOZXdTMjAyMzAxMTISCUQwMjI3NjY3MxoINHFoYzUyZzc

[11]. Yang, Y. (2020). Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of Gender in Advance with English [the Requirements for the degree of Master of Education, Hunan University ]. https://d.wanfangdata.com.cn/thesis/ChJUaGVzaXNOZXdTMjAyMzAxMTISCUQwMjE5MDQ2MRoIZ205cDEzNmM=

[12]. Barton, A., & Sakwa, L. N. (2012). The representation of gender in English textbooks in Uganda. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 20(2), 173-190. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2012.669394

[13]. Wen, S. (2020/2021). Gender Stereotypes in Chinese Primary English Textbooks: A Study of a Widely Used 6th Grade Textbook BRITISH COUNCIL.

[14]. Chen, W., Xyu, Y., Gao, Y., Sun, X., Wang, H., & Su, H. (2001). The development of agriculture and policies of physiocracy and commerce suppressing in ancient China. Reference Teaching to Middle School History (11), 46-50.

[15]. Wei, F., & Guo, J. (2014). Study on the root causes and solutions of inequality between men and women. Reform and opening up, No.384(03), 67-68. https://doi.org/10.16653/j.cnki.32-1034/f.2014.03.035

[16]. Feng, A. (2018). The change of the Woman’s Family Role in Modern Society–From “a Virtuous Wife and Devoted Mother” to “a Part of Conjugal Harmony”. Journal of Taiyuan University of Technology (Social Science Edition), 36(04), 68-73.

[17]. Wang, W. (2016). Gender Role Stereotypes in Chinese Primary School Textbooks. Asian Journal of Women's Studies, 4(4), 39-59. https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.1998.11665833

[18]. Wang, Y., Yu, X., & Chen, Q. (2019). Translation and negotiation of gender stereotypes: metamorphosis of female characters in the English version of a Chinese classical novel. Perspectives, 28(5), 702-716. https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676x.2019.1663887

[19]. Cheng, C. (1991). New dimensions of confucian and neo-confucian philosophy. Alban: State University of New York Press.

[20]. Zurndorfer, H. T. (2018). Waves of Publications on Chinese Women and Gender Studies. NORA - Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 26(4), 357-366. https://doi.org/10.1080/08038740.2018.1528998

[21]. Heather M. Gerling, W. A.-H. C. C. L. (2019). Fractured modernization: cultural and structural predictors of attitudes on gender equality. International Review of Sociology. https://doi.org/10.1080/03906701.2019.1614294

[22]. Bisi, S. (2002). Female Criminality and Gender Difference. International Review of Sociology, 12(1), 23-43. https://doi.org/10.1080/03906700220135309

[23]. Halliday, C. S., Paustian-Underdahl, S. C., Stride, C., & Zhang, H. (2022). Retaining Women in Male-Dominated Occupations across Cultures: The Role of Supervisor Support and Psychological Safety. Human Performance, 35(3-4), 156-177. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959285.2022.2050234

[24]. Aikman, S., Halai, A., & Rubagiza, J. (2011). Conceptualising gender equality in research on education quality. Comparative Education, 47(1), 45-60. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2011.541675

[25]. Rönnlund, M., Bergström, P., & Tieva, Å. (2021). Teaching in a non-traditional classroom: experiences from a teacher-initiated design project. Teachers and Teaching, 27(7), 587-601. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2021.1977274

[26]. Xiong, T., & Qian, Y. (2012). Ideologies of English in a Chinese high school EFL textbook: a critical discourse analysis. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 32(1), 75-92. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2012.655239

[27]. Xiang, R., & Yenika-Agbaw, V. (2019). EFL textbooks, culture and power: a critical content analysis of EFL textbooks for ethnic Mongols in China. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 42(4), 327-341. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2019.1692024

[28]. Foroutan, Y. (2012). Gender representation in school textbooks in Iran: The place of languages. Current Sociology, 60, 771 - 787.

[29]. Lyu, X. (2018). An Investigation and Analysis of the Cultural Content of the Textbooks for Junior Middle Schools Published by Shanghai Education Press [A thesis submitted to Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Master degree ].

[30]. Canale, G., & Furtado, V. (2021). Gender in EFL Education: Negotiating Textbook Discourse in the Classroom. Changing English, 28(1), 58-71. https://doi.org/10.1080/1358684x.2020.1812377

[31]. Lee, J. F. K. (2014). Gender representation in Hong Kong primary school ELT textbooks – a comparative study. Gender and Education, 26(4), 356-376. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2014.916400

[32]. Lee, J. F. K. (2016). Gender representation in Japanese EFL textbooks – a corpus study. Gender and Education, 30(3), 379-395. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2016.1214690

[33]. Jiang, Y. (2021). The Evaluation research of Reading Texts of Junior Middle School English Textbooks Published by Shanghai Education Edition [A thesis submitted for the Master's degree, Shenyang Normal University].

[34]. Krippendorff, K. (2019). Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology (Fourth Edition ed.) https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071878781

[35]. Brugeilles, C., Cromer, S., & Unesco. (2009). Promoting gender equality through textbooks: a methodological guide.http://lst-iiep.iiep-unesco.org/cgi-bin/wwwi32.exe/[in=epidoc1.in]/?t2000=025724/(100).

[36]. Hong, Z.-W., Chen, Y.-L., & Lan, C.-H. (2012). A courseware to script animated pedagogical agents in instructional material for elementary students in English education. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 27(5), 379-394. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2012.733712

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