‘A woman's Place is in the Home': Gender Stereotyping in Students’ Work

Abstract

This article reports the findings of a study that sought to examine gender issue in the context of practice materials produced by students training to be English teachers with a view to finding out whether or not the gender bias reported in published ELT textbooks is also reflected in student work. The focus of the study was on the visibility and representation of fictitious characters in domestic and other settings. The study involved an analysis of the content of the portfolios produced by undergraduates as part of the requirement for a course in ELT methodology. The results suggest that the materials produced by students tend to suffer from the gender stereotype uncovered in published materials. Women characters appeared to be more confined to domestic settings and were more likely to be shown performing traditional gender roles. The findings suggest that trainees failed to demonstrate the sensitivity and competence needed to deal with gender issue in instructional materials. It also produced evidence to suggest that both female and female trainees tended to suffer from the potential gender insensitivity observed in the study.