Sexism in School Textbooks Prepared under Education Reform in Turkey.

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyze the new textbooks prepared under the framework of the realized in Turkey, as part of the EU harmonization process, in terms of gender representation. For this purpose, illustrations in the new ABC, Life Studies and Social Studies textbooks prepared under the new program were analyzed with two different scanning formats which would allow qualitative and quantitative evaluation. The findings of the study demonstrated that new textbooks prepared under the curriculum reform are the carriers of the gender stereotypes just like the older edition textbooks. New textbooks perform the function of reproducing gender segregation which was internalized by Turkish culture and the patriarchal ideology, by portraying men and women within their traditional roles. In this context, the extent to which this gender blind constitute a real reform in fact is questionable.