PREPARATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

WITH GENDER PERSPECTIVE

North Luzon Philippines State College

RONALD CANDY S. LASATEN

Chief, Instructional Materials Development
Mariano Marcos State University
Outline

• The Need for Gender-responsive Learning Materials

• Understanding Gender Issues
• Learning and Teaching Materials
• Checklist for Gender-sensitive Materials and Curriculum
• Guidelines for Gender-sensitive Learning Materials
The Need for a Gender-Responsive Learning Materials

Creating a classroom environment that treats women and men

equally is important for the educational success of students.

However gender equality does not stop with the teacher. It is

also important that the materials used are supporting equal
treatment.
Designing and developing instructional materials needs
consideration of a vast variety of factors, for example, age,
ethnicity, class, gender, ability levels, or purposes of the
curriculum (Amerian & Esmali, 2014).

Instructional materials do not only instruct some information

but also play a crucial role in transmitting gender roles and
social values to students.
Classroom materials that reinforce gender stereotypes,
can discourage students, weaken their motivation and limit their overall
academic performance.

This can result in fewer opportunities available to students when they

finish their schooling.

Several studies by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and

Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have found that some texts
underrepresent women, contain stereotypes about women or offensive
comments about women.
Several studies by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, have found that some texts
underrepresent women, contain stereotypes about women or offensive
comments about women.

Research has found that characterizations in teaching materials often

show a male majority. One study on high school English language
textbooks in Iran found that male characterizations were used as much
as 80% of the time.
Understanding Gender Issues (Acharya & Cohen, 1996)
1. Sexual Division of Labor – how work responsibilities are divided
between men and women in society.

2. Patriarchy – system in most societies where men control decision-

making in the family and the community.

3. Gender Subordination – discrimination against women in the

community and society because of the false assumption that they
are unable to perform well in the public domain.
Understanding Gender Issues
4. Male Bias – activities of the family and community are structured in a
such a way that preference is given to male participation and control
of resources.

5. Oppression – women are trained in a submissive pattern of behavior

and actions.

6. Gender Equality – equal power relations between men and women.

Learning and Teaching Materials
Many classroom materials, especially those that are older, may contain
gender bias:
• activities
• photos / images / illustrations
• content / texts/ reading materials
• written assignments
• test materials

Familiar examples of sexism in the English language (Kintanar, 2014):

• pronouns (he and man)
• suffixes (-ess, e.g. poetess)
• names and titles
Learning and Teaching Materials
Standard teaching methods and learning materials tend to:
• depict men as powerful, assertive, and intelligent
• depict men in leadership and professional roles (e.g., doctors)
• portray women as weak, passive, and submissive
• depict women in domestic, care-giving, and supportive roles
(e.g., nurses)

Gender-responsive teaching methods are free of and/or

challenge gender stereotypes
Learning and Teaching Materials
Some questions to consider when assessing and/or designing teaching
and learning materials:
• How many women and men are portrayed or mentioned in the text
and images?
• When and how often do female characters appear compared with
male characters?
• What kind of activity (productive/reproductive/community) is each
person involved in?
Learning and Teaching Materials
Some questions to consider when assessing and/or designing teaching
and learning materials:
• How are women and men portrayed? (e.g., nurturers, economic
producers, leaders, victims)
• Do the materials use gender-neutral/inclusive language? (i.e.,
“people” or “persons” vs. “men” and “women”)
• Are both pronouns used (she/he)?
• Who are the main characters in the stories/case studies?
Learning and Teaching Materials
Some questions to consider when assessing and/or designing teaching
and learning materials:
• Is there an equal representation of both women and men in the
images/illustrations?
• How do women appear in comparison with men, especially in terms
of their image sizes?
• How do the teaching/learning materials promote equal partnership
between women and men?
UNESCO Checklist for Gender-sensitive Materials and Curriculum

1.Are the materials used by the teacher or students free from

gender stereotypes?

2.Do the materials show females and males an equal amount of

times?

3.Do the materials show females and males with equal respect, and
potential (when talking about jobs, or the future, for example)?
UNESCO Checklist for Gender-sensitive Materials and Curriculum

4. Does the curriculum reflect the needs and life experiences of both
males and females?

5. Does the curriculum promote peace and equality for males and
females, regardless, of their race, class, disability, religion, sexual
preference, or ethnic background?
Identifying Gender Bias

Examine the image.

These images were
taken from an English
language textbook.
What do you notice
about how the men
and women are being
portrayed?
Identifying Gender Bias

Now look at a short

reading activity from
an actual English
language textbook.
What do you notice
about the
representation of
men and women in
the example?
For more examples, click this Examples of Issues in
Materials Related to Gender.pdf
UNESCO Guidelines for Gender-sensitive Materials

•Make sure that males and females are shown equally in class
materials.

•Make sure that the themes, subjects, and pictures used in class
materials connect to the life experiences of both female and male
students.

•Make sure that female and male students are not presented only in
stereotypical ways.
UNESCO Guidelines for Gender-sensitive Materials

•Make sure you use a balanced amount of materials written by male

and female authors.

•Include women and men as examples of experts or leaders

“Achieving gender equality requires the engagement of
women and men, girls and boys. It is everyone’s
responsibility.”

- Ban Ki-Moon
References:

Acharya, S. & Cohen, J. 1996. Action learning manual: A guide for literacy practitioners. The
Center of International Education: Research Center for Educational Innovation and
Development.
Amerian, M. & Esmali, F. 2015. Language and gender: A critical discourse analysis on gender
representation in a series of international ELT textbooks, International Journal of Research
Studies in Education, Vol. 4, pp.4-5.
Javier, R. M. 2016. Gender-based analysis of English Grade 9 instructional materials and its
sensitivity to sexist language. Unpublished Thesis. Southern Luzon State University.