A Survey of Gender Representation in Social Studies Textbooks of Ethiopian Primary Schools

Abstract

This study was an attempt to investigate and analyze gender representation in second cycle (grade 5-8) primary schools Social Studies textbooks. For this purpose, four Social Studies textbooks which are in use in grades 5, 6, 7, and 8 were investigated thoroughly. The content analysis method was employed. The results revealed that there is no fair representation of females and males in some gender related characteristics. The supremacy of males over females was observed in terms of names (X 2 = 122.64, df = 1, p< 0.05) and pronouns (X 2 = 46.76, df = 1, p<0.05) and it was suggested that reconsideration Should be made in revising and/or producing new textbooks, if necessary, in the future.