Discursive construction of hegemonic masculinity and emphasised femininity in the textbooks of primary education: children’s discursive agency and polysemy of the narratives

Journal article


Kostas, M. 2019. Discursive construction of hegemonic masculinity and emphasised femininity in the textbooks of primary education: children’s discursive agency and polysemy of the narratives. Gender and Education. 33 (1), pp. 50-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2019.1632807
AuthorsKostas, M.
Abstract

Gender-normative discursive representations in textbooks could have deleterious impacts on pupils’ gender identity development.

This study sets out to explore the discursive construction of femininity and masculinity in anthology textbooks for primary education and scrutinize children’s sense-making of gender-normative discourses. Grounded in a poststructuralist theorization of gender and Connell’s [(1995). Masculinities. Oxford: Blackwell] theory of masculinities, this qualitative study employs a Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (FCDA) to explore the discursive positioning of femininity and masculinity in school manuals. Additionally, semi-structured group interviews were conducted in two Athenian elementary schools with 40 boys and 40 girls, aged 8–10 years old.

The findings revealed that, in addition to androcentrism, textbooks were overwhelmingly defined by emphasized femininity and hegemonic masculinity discourses. Analyses of pupils’ accounts demonstrated that the children negotiated normative discourses in idiosyncratic ways, and that boys were less prepared than girls to subvert the anachronistic discourses of gender promoted by textbooks. It was also found that the mother’s employment status may exert a broadening influence on pupils’ understanding of gender.

KeywordsEducation; Gender studies; School textbooks
Year2019
JournalGender and Education
Journal citation33 (1), pp. 50-67
PublisherTaylor & Francis
ISSN0954-0253
1360-0516
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2019.1632807
Publication dates
Online20 Jun 2019
Print02 Jan 2021
Publication process dates
Deposited21 Jun 2019
Accepted11 Jun 2019
Accepted author manuscript
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
ContributorsKostas, M.
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https://repository.canterbury.ac.uk/item/88zz7/discursive-construction-of-hegemonic-masculinity-and-emphasised-femininity-in-the-textbooks-of-primary-education-children-s-discursive-agency-and-polysemy-of-the-narratives

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Accepted author manuscript
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License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
File access level: Open

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