Gender stereotypes in free textbooks

Abstract

Free textbooks used in schools are a very important source of knowledge. A big part of educational practices revolves around them. However, we found that the text and the images presented in the book promote subjectively gender stereotypes. Previous studies found that the books contain a traditional view of gender stereotypes, which encourages or tolerates inequality, discrimination, and violence against girls and women. Although these actions are not explicitly intended, the contents of these texts, whether by action or omission, present gender biases that do not favor the idea of equality between human beings. For this paper, we considered theoretical references that promote the understanding of the problem in gender stereotypes, which implicitly or explicitly appear in our daily lives, in the media, in the family, and at school. In this paper, the first findings of a qualitative research based on a hermeneutic approach are cited, which aims to analyze in depth the texts and illustrations, as well as the frequencies in which we find different characters within the pages of the textbook. Analysis guides are used in which all the elements that can provide elements on the presence or absence of gender stereotypes.