A Content Analysis of Textbooks: Investigating Gender Bias as a Social Prominence in Iranian High School English Textbooks

Abstract

This paper aims to look at language gender bias in EFL textbooks. It is the second in a series of three complementary papers which look at sexism (see Gharbavi & Mousavi, 2012). All use the same corpus; however different methodology. The paper points to areas that remain problematical in the design of textbooks. Four English textbooks currently taught in the Iranian high schools were chosen as a sample of this study. Three categories in these textbooks were examined: male and female visibility in illustrations, texts and the male/female occupational roles. First, a content analysis was conducted on the data, and then the frequency of each category was calculated and compared with one another. The results of chi-square test indicated that there is a significant difference between the frequencies of male and female for different categories of this study. The findings are followed by analysis and interpretation with special attention given to the relationship between language sexism and ideology. Pedagogical implications of the study have been discussed.