Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Gender (In)equality in English Textbooks in the Philippines: A Critical Discourse Analysis

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Sexuality & Culture Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Using critical discourse analysis, this study examines the representations of gender relations in a popular English textbook series used in primary schools in the Philippines, which is a highly-ranked country in global gender equality indices. It seeks to analyse the persistence of gender inequality in textbooks in a context that is fairly favourable for the promotion of gender equality. The findings indicate that overall gender inequality remains in favour of males. The persistence of male dominance overall despite demonstrable pro-women proclivities of the authors/editors may be a reflection of the enduring gender gap in the country, particularly in economic and political spheres. The implications are rather sobering. If achieving gender equality remains a challenge even among the highly-ranked countries like the Philippines, how much more is the case for over a hundred of lower-ranked countries?

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Source: Fairclough (1995, p. 98)

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. See Gee’s book section entitled, ‘Critical Discourse Analysis’ for a thorough discussion (Gee 2005).

References

  • Albert, J. R. (2013, March 23). Gender equality in the Philippines: What’s the real score? Retrieved April 3, 2013, from National Statistical Coordinating Board website: http://www.nscb.gov.ph/sexystats/2013/SS20130322_gender.asp.

  • Ansary, H., & Babaii, E. (2003). Subliminal sexism in current ESL/EFL textbooks. Asian EFL Journal: English Language Teaching and Research Articles, 5(1). Retrieved from http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/march03.sub1.php.

  • Apple, M. (1986). Teachers and texts: A political economy of class and gender relations in education. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Apple, M. (1993). Official knowledge: Democratic education in a conservative age. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asadullah, M. N., Islam, K. M. M., & Wahhaj, Z. (2018). Gender bias in Bangladeshi School textbooks: Not just a matter of politics or growing influence of islamists. The Review of Faith & International Affairs,16(2), 84–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2018.1469821.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baldwin, P., & Baldwin, D. (1992). The portrayal of women in classroom textbooks. Canadian Social Studies,26(3), 110–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brugeilles, C., & Cromer, S. (2009). Promoting gender equality through textbooks: A methodological guide. Retrieved April 4, 2013, from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001588/158897e.pdf.

  • Clark, J. A., & Mahoney, T. (2004). How much of the sky? Women in American high school history textbooks from the 1960s, 1980s and 1990s. Social Education,68, 57–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curaming, R. A. (2017). Hegemonic tool? Nationalism in Philippine history textbooks, 1900–2000. Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints,65(4), 417–450. https://doi.org/10.1353/phs.2017.0031.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, A. P., & McDaniel, T. R. (1999). You’ve come a long way, baby-or have you? Research evaluating gender portrayal in recent Caldecott-winning books. The Reading Teacher,52(5), 532–536.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Beaugrande, R. (1996). Introduction to text linguistics. London, New York: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Beauvoir, S. (1953). The second sex. London: J. Cape.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fairclough, N. (1989). Language and power. London: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and social change. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical discourse analysis. London: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • FitzGerald, F. (1979). America revised: History schoolbooks in the twentieth century. Westminster, MD: Random House Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gavins, J. (2007). Text world theory. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gee, J. P. (2005). An introduction to discourse analysis: Theory and method. Routledge.

  • Hoey, M. (1983). On the surface of discourse. London: George Allen & Unwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoey, M. (1991). Another perspective on coherence and cohesive harmony. In E. Ventola (Ed.), Functional and systemic linguistics: Approaches and uses (pp. 385–414). Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Janks, H. (2010). Literacy and power. New York, London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karasiak, K. (2010). Gender stereotypes in public school textbooks in the Dominican Republic (Master’s thesis). Loyola University, Chicago.

  • Lazar, M. M. (2005). Feminist critical discourse: Gender, power and ideology in discourse. Palgrave.

  • Lee, J. F. K. (2019). In the pursuit of a gender-equal society: Do Japanese EFL textbooks play a role? Journal of Gender Studies,28(2), 204–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2018.1423956.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKinsey and Company. (2018). The power of parity: Advancing women’s equality in Asia Pacific|McKinsey. Retrieved January 12, 2019, from McKinsey and Company website: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/gender-equality/the-power-of-parity-advancing-womens-equality-in-asia-pacific.

  • Namatende-Sakwa, L. (2018). The construction of gender in Ugandan English textbooks: A focus on gendered discourses. Pedagogy, Culture & Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2018.1436583.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Namatende-Sakwa, L. (2019). Networked texts: Discourse, power and gender neutrality in Ugandan Physics textbooks. Gender and Education,31(3), 362–376. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2018.1543858.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls, J. (2005). The philosophical underpinnings of school textbook research. Paradigm,3(1), 24–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paterno, M. E., & Hermosa, N. (Eds.). (2006a). Our world of reading: Silver secrets. Anvil Publishing, Inc.

  • Paterno, M. E., & Hermosa, N. (Eds.). (2006b). Our world of reading: Wind by the sea. Anvil Publishing, Inc.

  • Paterno, M. E., & Hermosa, N. (Eds.). (2006c). Our world of reading: Dream chasers. Anvil Publishing, Inc.

  • Rodriguez, L. (1990). Patriarchy and women’s subordination in the Philippines. Review of Women’s Studies,1(1), 15–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sadker, D., Sadker, M., & Zittleman, K. (2009). Still failing at fairness: How gender bias cheats girls and boys and what we can do about it. New York: Charles Scribner’s.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, M., & Thompson, G. (Eds.). (2001). Patterns of texts: In honour of Michael Hoey. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torres, T. (2012, June 24). PH ranks 6th in WB on gender equality. Philippine Star. Retrieved April 3, 2013, from http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/06/24/12/ph-ranks-6th-wb-gender-equality.

  • UNDP. (2000). Millenium development goals. Retrieved April 4, 2013, from http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/mdgoverview.html.

  • UNESCO. (2003). Education for all: Global monitoring report. UNESCO Institute of Education.

  • UNESCO. (2007). Promoting gender equality through textbooks: A methodological guide. Paris: UNESCO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weinbrenner, P. (1992). Methodologies of textbook analysis used to date. In H. Bourdillon (Ed.), History and social studies—Methodologies of textbook analysis (pp. 85–95). Amsterdam: Swets and Zeitlinger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Werth, P. (1999). Text worlds: Representing conceptual space in discourse. Harlow, Essex: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wharton, S. (2005). Invisible females, incapable males: Gender construction in a children’s reading scheme. Language and Education, 19(3), 238–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wodak, R. (1997). Introduction: Some important issues in the research of gender and discourse. In R. Wodak (Ed.), Gender and discourse (pp. 1–20). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Economic Forum. (2018). Global Gender Gap Index Report 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2019, from https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-gender-gap-report-2018.

Download references

Acknowledgements

Eulalia M. Curaming wishes to thank Dr Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen for supervising the thesis upon which this paper has been based.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. International School Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

    Eulalia M. Curaming

  2. University of Brunei Darussalam, Gadong, Brunei

    Rommel A. Curaming

Authors
  1. Eulalia M. Curaming
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rommel A. Curaming
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rommel A. Curaming.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

Since this study does not involve human subjects, there was no need for an explicit clearance from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of our universities.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendices

Appendix 1

See Table 8.

Table 8 Composite characterisation of boys and girls
Full size table

Appendix 2

See Table 9.

Table 9 Composite Characterisation of men and women
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Curaming, E.M., Curaming, R.A. Gender (In)equality in English Textbooks in the Philippines: A Critical Discourse Analysis. Sexuality & Culture 24, 1167–1188 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-020-09750-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-020-09750-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation