TY - JOUR
T1 - Are females and males equitably represented? A study of early readers
AU - Lee, Jackie F.K.
AU - Chin, Andy C.O.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018
PY - 2019/2
Y1 - 2019/2
N2 - Early readers can play a significant role in the intergenerational transmission of gender roles. The present study examines how females and males are represented in selected early readers recommended by the Education Bureau of Hong Kong for the promotion of ‘Reading to Learn’ and ‘Reading across the Curriculum’. The study used both manual and computational methods to examine how experiential and relational values are expressed through variables such as the ratio of female-to-male character types, the roles and activities depicted, character identification and the order of mention of males and females. The findings show that although the number of female human character types was similar to that of their male counterparts, there were substantially more male than female animal character types. The study also reveals gender stereotypes including confining females to a limited range of traditional roles and activities, addressing females more informally than males, and a stronger tendency to identify females by their relationships with others. The paper ends with some recommendations for education authorities, teachers and parents on how to help children interpret gender and redress unfair practices.
AB - Early readers can play a significant role in the intergenerational transmission of gender roles. The present study examines how females and males are represented in selected early readers recommended by the Education Bureau of Hong Kong for the promotion of ‘Reading to Learn’ and ‘Reading across the Curriculum’. The study used both manual and computational methods to examine how experiential and relational values are expressed through variables such as the ratio of female-to-male character types, the roles and activities depicted, character identification and the order of mention of males and females. The findings show that although the number of female human character types was similar to that of their male counterparts, there were substantially more male than female animal character types. The study also reveals gender stereotypes including confining females to a limited range of traditional roles and activities, addressing females more informally than males, and a stronger tendency to identify females by their relationships with others. The paper ends with some recommendations for education authorities, teachers and parents on how to help children interpret gender and redress unfair practices.
KW - Children's books
KW - Education authorities
KW - Equality
KW - Gender
KW - Hong Kong
KW - Readers
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85059953377&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.linged.2018.12.003
DO - 10.1016/j.linged.2018.12.003
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85059953377
SN - 0898-5898
VL - 49
SP - 52
EP - 61
JO - Linguistics and Education
JF - Linguistics and Education
ER -