Gender representation in school textbooks in Iran: the place of languages

Abstract

This article focuses on the association between language and gender from a sociological perspective. The article provides research-based evidence to analyse whether and to what extent gender characteristics represented through the educational system are associated with the languages used in the educational resources. The analysis uses socialization theory which recognizes the educational system, particularly the school and its educational materials, as the first official agent and the most powerful engine of gender socialization. Using the method of content analysis, this study is based on Iranian school textbooks, including 35 teaching and grammar textbooks for Persian ( Farsi), Arabic and English languages. Generally speaking, the results show that while the dominance of male gender persists throughout the textbooks, the intensity of the dominance varies according to the learning stages of the languages. The results also suggest that the association between ‘gender and language’ is more strongly influenced by social and ideological structure.