This paper aims to highlight how text books in Government context are used to construct students’
perceptions about gender equality and equity. Beside this, paper will explore how text book
represents different gender identities. Paper also includes recommendations to promote gender
equality and equity in our society.
Text Book Analysis of class 8th English Text Book
Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of
reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.
Kofi Annan
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/k/kofiannan401690.html
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Text Book Analysis of class 8th English Text Book
INTRODUCTION:
This paper intends to see how text books at secondary level present gender identity and
what is their role in constructing the students’ identity as girls and boys. In fact the exclusion of
certain groups from meaningful participation in society and its institutions through socially
constructed hierarchies of race, ethnicity, religion and gender is of increasing concern today
(Nambissans, 2000).In order to explore that phenomenon I have selected, English class 8th text
book, and analyzed it by using a critical framework of text book analysis (adopted from Dilshad,
2006). I have tried to see the overall representation of gender in the text book. This paper
explains the brief description of the framework used and its purpose of using, description of the
text book, analysis and findings, and in the last few recommendations.
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Text Book Analysis of class 8th English Text Book
Class 8th English text book is divided into 12 Units and overall 24 lessons, including two
poems. For the book analysis I have selected 12 lessons from various units, including two
poems. Mostly lessons are dialogues between various characters. (For brief description of the
lessons kindly see Appendix A). Before analyzing the book I read it thoroughly and then in
second reading I wrote some questions according to framework and note down the answers. For
some questions I did not find any answer I left blank spaces.
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Text Book Analysis of class 8th English Text Book
Language used in the text book is also presenting the patriarchal society’s nature. For
example In Unit two, Lesson one, which is a poem on friendship. It is shown that only male can
become the friends of males; language of the poem is structured in a way that it is only
addressing the boys, and females are invisible and excluded from the poem.
Friendship….pure unselfish friendship, all through life’s allotted span, nurtures, strengthens,
widens, and lengthens, Man’s relationship with man (P.7).
The underlined message or the assumption made by the poet in the poem is that boys
should only be friend boys and girls should have girls as their friends. Thus that implies that
people from the opposite sex should not friendship with their counterparts. Would doing so be
considered immoral? Is that how the author wants the readers to understand the text? Moreover,
the hidden messages throughout the book depict the role of women in our society as docile
homemakers occupied with domestic chores. I believe gender segregation is a form of
exploitation of women. One can easily exclude them and curtail their freedom on the name of
gender segregation.
In Unit three, Lesson three, Allama Iqbal is shown as a great national hero, and after a
brief introduction of Allama, there is an exercise, in which students are required to write full
sentences instead of short form. Here author of the book has written in the exercise that He’s a
good boy. (p. 17). Identity of the Iqbal is portrayed in such a way that it is representing
masculine hegemony (Dean, 2007) in the society. The Text is clearly suggesting to the reader
that in order to become a famous personality one needs to be a good boy. That ‘good boy’ notion
is not explained by the author of the lesson any further. Immediately after the lesson there is a
passage in which students are asked to write about their favorite personality or poet, most
probably about male personality, because the ultimate impact on the students’ mind after reading
the Allama as a “National Hero” may lead students to think and write about a personality
presumably a male. All high class professions like philosophers and scientists are attached to
male. For example Ibn-e-Sina has been presented as a Muslim scientist. This shows that upper
level professions which require high level of thinking and wisdom are clearly for males (only
Muslims). I believe this is a deliberate effort of constructing a world of hierarchy in which males
are placed at the top of hierarchy, and women are completely ignored and not recognized. The
ultimate impact of that bias representation will construct an image of a “Hierarchically gender
Structured World” in students’ mind where women are not allowed to acquire high level
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Text Book Analysis of class 8th English Text Book
professions which require intense intellectualism and thinking, such as philosophers and
scientists.
In this text book females are shown as mothers, sister and grandmothers. Their identity is
attached to male members of the society, they cannot have their own individual identity, as Dean
(2007) observes that, “…girls are always presented as daughters and women as mother,
indicating that females have no identity of their own and that their own identity as girls is
derived from their relationship with a male father and as a women from their reproductive role
(p. 183)”. For example in Unit-4 Lesson-2 a student is shown writing a letter to his mother about
his studies, and hostel life. His mother’s reply is also shown (p.24) in which, though name of the
mother is shown, but there is no image of her. Mothers are shown with housewives’ role cooking
and living in the house. Her mother’s reply “I’ll cook all the dishes you enjoy, so that you can
entertain your friends as well” (p. 24) shows that females in our society are bound only to work
inside the house, in fact texts limit the role of women to that of mother and confine her to the
four walls of the house, cooking food, carrying water and caring (Dean, 2007). In fact girls are
best prepared for these roles by learning feminine skills through apprenticeship with their mother
(Dean, 2007). In the whole book not even a single girl is shown in student role, so when boys go
to school girls stay at home, this concept is further strengthen in Unit-4 lesson-2(Planning a visit-
II) when a boy is writing a letter to his mother from hostel, and shows his love and gratitude to
her sister who is at the home.
Textbooks, I believe, are cultural carriers. They carry the culture of our society into
classroom. Text book messages slowly become part of students’ perceptions. Especially in
Pakistan where text book are the only instrument of imparting education on all levels (Aziz,
1993, p. 01).Their impact on students’ perception is significant.
At the latter part of this text book female characters are more visible and highlighted as
compared to initial part of the text book. But all females are either mothers or sisters, not even a
single lady is shown which have her own “Male Relationship Free Identity”. Text book
implicitly is constructing an image of women into students’ mind, who is completely dependent
on her relationship with male for the sake of her identity.
Interestingly gender stereotypes are also shown in the text book which are attached to
boys’ and girls’ identity, for example poem “A Little Girls Plaint” ( See. p. 36) shows that boys
are portrayed as noisy, having little brain, liars like peacock, chasing cats and smashing toys.
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Text Book Analysis of class 8th English Text Book
While on the other hand on the “Gender Segregation Spectrum” girls are shown as kind and
polite, courteous and coy. This represents that male and female are two opposite ends of socially
constructed world, performing socially approved behaviors, having fixed characteristics like,
noisy, shy, polite and courteous, so it means boys cannot be courteous and girls cannot be noisy.
Their identities as girls and boys are bound to demonstrate given and predetermined
characteristics and jobs. In fact boys are shown in activities which I call “Power Demonstration
Activities” like chasing cats and smashing toys. While girls are portrayed in those activities
which require less space as well as less power to carry out task. Expression of power is only
attached to boys.
Recommendations:
Gender neutral language (Dean, 2007) should be used in our text books, words like girls
and boys can be easily converted into students. In order to show more visibility of female
characters each and every character in text books should have name and an image, besides this
frequency of occurrence of female characters should be increased. Equal representation of
famous and national personalities in terms of gender should be given importance. Because equal
representation of female and male famous personalities will force our students to think that fame
is not only attached to male. Gender bias language such as “boys are notorious” and “girls are
polite” should be avoided, using this type of text means we are forcing our students to believe in
gender polarization. Last but not the least in our society there is a very limited interaction
between opposite sexes, dialogues between opposite sexes should be included into the text books
to break so called “Taboos” in our society.
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Text Book Analysis of class 8th English Text Book
REFRENCES
Aziz, K.K. (1993): The murder of history. A critique of history text books used in Pakistan.
Lahore: Vanguard.
Dean, B.L (2007). Creating subjects for gender apartheid: a critical study of an English language
Pakistani textbook In Qureshi, R. & Rarieya, F.A.J (2007). Gender & education in
Pakistan Karachi: Oxford University press
Mattu, A.T. and Hussain, N. (2004). ‘Class and gender in school texts.’ In (Ed). The subtle
subversion: the state of curricula and textbooks in Pakistan. Islamabad sustainable
development policy institute. pp.101-109.
Nadeem, S. (Ed). (2006) Everyday English for class VIII. Jamshoro, Pakistan: Sindh: Textbook
Board
Nambissan, B.G. (2000). Identity, exclusion and the education of tribal communities In Wazir,
R. (2000) the gender gap in basic education NGos as change agenst London: sage
publications
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Text Book Analysis of class 8th English Text Book
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Text Book Analysis of class 8th English Text Book
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(11)Unit ten: CAPTURING THE This is a dialogue between two male characters,
lesson 1 WORLD OF about the computers.
COMPUTERS
(12)Unit 11: MOENJODARO This is a dialogue between mother and son, on
lesson 1 historical place MoenJoDaro.
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Text Book Analysis of class 8th English Text Book
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Text Book Analysis of class 8th English Text Book
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