An analysis of the visual portrayal of women in junior secondary Malawian school history textbooks

Abstract

Abstract

"Quem Quer Ser Apagada?" Imagens de Mulheres em Manuais de História no Ensino em Contexto Moçambicano

“…These conform to the dominant standard of public memory in Mozambique and beyond, which continues to be deeply androcentric (Cabecinhas, 2018;Meneses, 2017;Pereira, 2021). So, as observed in recent studies of other countries (e.g., Chiponda & Wassermann, 2015;Fardon & Schoeman, 2010), the textbooks analysed keep on silencing and excluding women, as they are absent or portrayed as mere generic and non-personalised illustrations. The various educational agents need to produce significant work to combat gender inequalities, which continue to determine that the country's history is told as a "single story", strongly androcentric.…”

Silenced and Invisible Historical Figures in Zambia: An Analysis of the Visual Portrayal of Women in Senior Secondary School History Textbooks

“…In locating the nexus between history textbooks and gender, a plethora of studies has shown that textbooks are crucial in shaping gender roles in the minds of learners (Chick, 2006;Blumberg, 2007;Mutekwe & Modiba, 2012;Chiponda, 2014;Chiponda & Wassermann, 2011Acheson et al, 2020). Collectively, these studies have pointed out the role of history textbooks as agents of the hidden curriculum that may reinforce patriarchal values in schools.…”

“…Several scholars have highlighted that textbooks continue to perpetuate patriarchy by silencing the historical roles played by women (Schocker & Woyshner, 2013;Chiponda & Wassermann, 2015;Nasibi, 2015). Textbooks continue to perpetuate gender stereotypes in aspects of images, text, and the selection of topics.…”

“…Against this background, this study seeks to bridge this gap by examining the portrayal of women characters in selected senior history textbooks in Zambia. In so doing, this article contributes to addressing what Chiponda (2014) identifies as a critical lack of research on the portrayal of women in history textbooks in the African context.…”

Semiotic analysis of English books of Punjab Textbook Board (Pakistan) with Gender Lens: Exploring the gender sensitization level of Punjab Textbook Board officers

“…It is historically testified that textbooks are considered very important for both the teachers and the students in the process of formal education. Textbooks are considered very complex as they symbolically represent communal, ethnic, commercial and political conditions with context of a society in which these are read and understood (Chiponda &Wassermann, 2015).It means textbooks will directly affect the student's way of thinking about the society represented in the textbooks and the society around them. As researchers have argued that textbooks provide a framework and a prearranged objective base directive (Gulzar, 2017) to the students, it becomes even crucial to present such contexts and settings where no discrimination or oppression should be traced against any particular gender.…”