What Does It Mean to Be a Girl? Teachers’ Representations of Gender in Supplementary Reading Materials for South African Schools

Education reform, including methods to create greater gender equality, is an ongoing process in post-Apartheid South Africa. Using an African feminism theoretical framework and a critical content analysis approach, we examined the representation of female characters in a subset of supplementary read...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of literacy research 2016-12, Vol.48 (4), p.394-422
Main Authors: Dentith, Audrey M., Sailors, Misty, Sethusha, Mantsose
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Children
Childrens Literature
Coding
Comparative Analysis
Content Analysis
Culturally Relevant Education
Curriculum Development
Data Analysis
Education policy
Education reform
Educational Change
Equal Education
Females
Feminism
Foreign Countries
Form Classes (Languages)
Gender equity
Gender Issues
Grounded Theory
Literature
Prepositions
Qualitative Research
Reading instruction
Reading materials
Sex Fairness
Sex Role
Sex Stereotypes
Supplementary Reading Materials
Teacher Developed Materials
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Summary:Education reform, including methods to create greater gender equality, is an ongoing process in post-Apartheid South Africa. Using an African feminism theoretical framework and a critical content analysis approach, we examined the representation of female characters in a subset of supplementary reading titles created under an international development project. Through constant comparison of prepositions in the books, our findings indicated that the authors of these books (South African teachers) depicted females in complex, multifaceted, and, at times, contradictory roles. These panoramic roles created by the authors appeared to be situated in the very practical and lived experiences of children in South Africa. This study has implications for curriculum development in international settings.
ISSN:1086-296X
1554-8430
DOI:10.1177/1086296X16683474