Mahdi Dahmardeh, Aveen Mohammed Hasan, Poune Muhammadi and Fathiya Al-Rashdi
This study aims to explore how gender is represented in 64 English Language Teaching (ELT) coursebooks used in schools across seven Middle Eastern countries. It examines whether…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how gender is represented in 64 English Language Teaching (ELT) coursebooks used in schools across seven Middle Eastern countries. It examines whether these materials promote gender equality, as outlined in the official curriculum.
Design/methodology/approach
The coursebooks were analysed through content analysis, focusing on their texts, visuals and themes. This approach helped uncover how males and females are portrayed and whether gendered language or stereotypes are present.
Findings
The results reveal a clear gender imbalance. Males are often shown in dominant and diverse roles, while females are frequently confined to stereotypical ones. Gender-biased language and imagery appear throughout the materials, which may affect how students see themselves and interact with others. Such biases could impact not just academic performance but also social development. The findings suggest that schools in the sampled countries, including Egypt, Iran, Iraq (Kurdistan), Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates, are not doing enough to promote gender equality through these coursebooks.
Originality/value
This research sheds light on an important issue: how educational materials shape students’ understanding of gender roles. By analysing gender representation in 64 ELT coursebooks used in seven Middle Eastern countries, the study reveals biases that call for immediate changes to create more inclusive resources. While gender representation in ELT coursebooks has been studied globally, this is the first time scholars from different Middle Eastern countries have compared gender portrayal in coursebooks where English is a foreign language. This is an important step towards fostering equality in classrooms across the region.
Details
Keywords
Mahdi Dahmardeh and Sung-Do Kim
The aim of this article was to understand about cultural representation in these coursebooks and if it is reflected the status of English as a lingua franca.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this article was to understand about cultural representation in these coursebooks and if it is reflected the status of English as a lingua franca.
Design/methodology/approach
This article is a report on a case study in the form of content analysis of different categories of culture represented in English language coursebooks used in schools of Iran. In order to do so, references to source, target, international and universal cultures were classified into four aspects: perspectives, products, practices and persons.
Findings
Generally, the findings suggested that despite the high frequency of cultural elements, the representation favoured the source culture, while the target, international and universal cultures were heavily under-represented.
Research limitations/implications
Apart from the valuable contributions of the study, the implications of the study are that despite the high frequency of cultural elements, the representation favoured the source culture, while the target, international and universal cultures were heavily under-represented. Therefore, the imbalance in the content of materials on different cultures needs to be redressed. While the main concern of this investigation is the frequency of appearance, which replicates the extent of source, target, international and universal cultures represented in the coursebooks, the impact of the materials, affected by how the cultural elements are used and perceived by teachers and pupils, is beyond the scope of the present study; hence, future studies in this area are deeply encouraged, and it is recommended for further research.
Practical implications
The implications for resolving the imbalance in cultural representation are also being explained.
Originality/value
Bearing in mind the importance of coursebooks as well as the role of culture in teaching the English language, this article aims at understanding about cultural representation within the newly developed Iranian English language coursebooks for schools, an issue that has never been studied by Iranian scholars with respect to the newly published materials.