Gender representation in English textbooks and classroom praxis: a Thai state secondary public school, Chiang Rai Province

Abstract

This study has the objectives to: 1) study the dynamic of gender representation in English textbooks and 2) study the classroom praxis and reconstruction of gender representation in English textbooks. This study adopted the method of qualitative research. Sai Nam Mekong School, Chiang Khong District, Chiang Rai Province was selected as the study area. The data was collected from English textbooks which were used in four curriculums, classroom observation, and interview. The research found that gender representation that depicted patriarchy ideology was clearly shown in English textbooks used in the Secondary School Curriculum B.E. 2503 (A.D. 1960). It reflected gender – division of labor and gender stereotype. The devaluation of women and praising value of men steadily continued in the Secondary Education Curriculum B.E. 2521 (A.D.1978). By the way, it was found that the content in English textbooks in the Basic Education Curriculum B.E. 2544 (A.D.2001), and the Basic Education Core Curriculum B.E. 2551 (A.D. 2008) greatly reduced male praise and raised women value. Apart from that, the intersectionality in gender representation has continued to represent in all courses. Nevertheless, gender representation in English classrooms, teachers were key practitioners who had power and freedom to choose and position English textbooks in classrooms. They were also responsible to design activities in classrooms. Moreover, the knowledge, experiences, perspectives, and attitudes of teachers toward gender had influenced the practice of reproduction and reconstruction gender representation in classrooms. Gender attitudes of teachers can be divided into 3 types, namely: 1) teachers with patriarchy attitude 2) teachers with gender – neutral attitude and 3) teachers with challenging attitude towards gender representation. At the same time, students also had status as practitioners. They were able to interpret, question, and challenge the reproduction of gender representation in both English textbooks and English classrooms. There are 3 types of Classroom praxis in Sai Nam Khong School which are 1) classrooms of silence based on the foundation of patriarchy, 2) classrooms served as safe spaces for gender representation, and 3) classrooms that create new contexts for gender representation.