Abstract Submitted to BERA Main Conference, 5-8 September 2007

Paper presented at the British Educational Research Association New Researchers/Student Conference, Institute of Education, University of London, 5 September 2007

We are doing ‘gender’: a critical analysis of students’ work

Shu-Ching Lee*

Introduction The past twenty years, however, have witnessed significant transformation politically, economically and socially in Taiwan. The gender reforms in education that eventually passed entailed the participation of educational reformers in broad terms, as well as the women’s movement and professors from academic women’s or gender studies (Lee and Hsieh, 2005). Organized feminism spearheaded change in Taiwan, as women-led NPOs played a crucial role in persuading policymakers to enact changes pertaining to gender (Lee, 2005). For the past ten years, the gender issues have been introduced to education reform in 1996, officially included in the curriculum in 1998 (taking effect in 2001) and regulated under the Gender Equity Education Law of 2004. In effect, Taiwan represents a signal example of broad institutional change with respect to gender education in matters both of legislation and policy.

It is worth noting that policy is regularly re-inscribed as it is woven into school. School voices in response to reforms, however, seem to be rarely investigated and heard. Located in the sociology of education policy, this paper explores the ways in which gender equality reforms in education are interpreted and recontextualised at school level in Taiwan. Moving away from policymaking, the descriptions of this paper seek to capture the complexity of expressing policy in terms of students’ prizewinning work at three schools. My research question for this paper is: how have actors at the school level recontextualised gender education policy in Taiwan?

Research Methodology and Methods Policy as text has its value. I subscribe to Ball (1994) that two conceptualisations of policy are implicit in each other, rather than one or the other. Seeing policy as text enables us to examine a plurality of readings within an individual and a variety of people all levels of policy positions, thereby understanding the inter-penetration of

* Shu-Ching Lee, PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education, Cambridge University, correspondence: Jesus College, Jesus Lane, Cambridge, CB5 8BL. Email: [email protected]

1 constraint and agency. A plurality of readings can be further analysed from the perspective of policy as discourse to review how discourses, sometimes contradictory, exercise their power in the process as well as implementation of policy. Any complete policy analysis shall take into account both policy as text and policy as discourse. In this respect, I adopt critical discourse analysis (CDA) in order to reveal the way power is exercised through various languages and discourses at both the micro-level and the macro-level.1 CDA, as Locke (2004) summed up, views discourse as ‘coloured by and productive of ideology’ (p.1), views human subjectivity as in part constructed by discourse, views reality as ‘textually and intertextually mediated via verbal and non-verbal language systems, and texts as sites for both the inculcation and the contestation of discourses’, and views the systematic analysis and the interpretation of texts as ‘potentially revelatory of ways in which discourses consolidate power and colonize human subjects through often covert position calls’ (p.2). In policy text, we can see obviously the exercise of discourse and power. As Scott argued:

The reader of policy text is not just presented with an argument and then asked to make up their mind about its merits or demerits, but positioned within a discourse- a way of understanding relations within the world- which restricts and constraints the reader from understanding the world in any other way. (Scott, 2001: 27)

Foucault (1977:49 quoted in Ball, 1994: 21) argued that discourses are:

(P)ractices that systematically form the objects of which they speak……Discourses are not about objects; they do not identify objects, they constitute them and in the practice of doing so conceal their own invention.

Drawing on Foucault, Ball (1994) argued that discourses are about what can be said, and thought, but also about who can speak, when, where and with what authority. In this sense, as Codd (1988) claimed, language is not only an instrument of communication or even of knowledge, but also an instrument of power. Discourse was linked to power through language. Only within a materialist view of language, Codd (ibid.) argued, is it possible to show how discourse can mediate the exercise of power, for it must go beyond the meaning of what is said to the act of saying it. Focusing on

1 Although CDA sees power as being ‘diffused’ through the prevalence of various discourses (Locke, 2004), I purposely ignore the configuration of power, say, diffusion, top-down, or bottom-up; rather, I only utilize CDA as a tool to analyse practices, events and texts in wider social, political, and cultural processes.

2 language allows for the understanding of ‘how ideas, preferences and values attain the stature of statute’ (Marshall, 1997: 7).

Regarding school sampling, two 'gender-initiative' junior high schools2 (with pupils aged 12-15) for two city/county districts are purposely selected and a non-gender initiative high school in Dansin City was selected by characteristics of demographic intake, access and availability. Typically in Taiwanese society, previous ‘relationships’ are a crucial factor not only in gaining access to institutions and individuals but also in guaranteeing the quality of data collected within a defined timeframe (Lee, 2000). In this respect, I placed more weight on my established relationships with schools, and less on demographic characteristics such as school size, ethnic makeup, location, performance, parents’ SES levels, etc.

Arched Door School, the gender-initiative Dansin junior high, is sited in the most population-dense part of Taiwan, with 22,406 people per squared kilometre; it also has the lowest Taiwanese sex ratio at 91.75 (male/female×100) in Dansin City. This district, one of the expensive in terms of land price, is home to a range of modern retail, banking and hospitality-sector enterprises. As a consequence, the SES of pupils' parents in Arched Door School far exceeds the Dansin average, with around 74% holding a degree and 56% working at professional or managerial level3. Mountain City School in Fuwei, meanwhile, is located in the centre of a rural county of a population of approximately 240,373, 46.16% of whom live in central urban agglomerations. 24.53% of the city dwellers hold at least a college or university degree, compared to a county average of only 7.53%. This school is effectively sited in an urban part of a rural region, whence my pseudonym ‘Mountain City’.

2 State policy stemming from the 2004 Gender Equity Education Law mandates the establishment of 'gender-initiative' schools in each city or county. A gender-initiative school is responsible for arranging gender-related activities within its locality, such as conferences on gender education for teachers, in- service teacher training on gender education, media-production workshops in relation to gender education, study groups and so on. The Chinese name for these schools is thus ' Schools as a Resource Centre for Gender Education'. They are funded both by the MOE and the local government. 3 Since Arched Door School didn't have to hand statistics of pupils' parents’ education and occupation, I collected this information myself. Luckily, every school in Taiwan has collated Student Record Cards with detailed information of students' name, gender, age, and address, together with the education and occupation of their parents/guardian and a brief overview of their families. As it was time-consuming to key in codes for every student, I adopted a systematic sampling method, taking care to ensure with teachers' help that the sampling frame did not hide any pattern. I chose 12 classes out of 72 classes (sampling interval K=6) selecting a randomised number as a starting-point from a random number table representing every grade (grade 7-9), aiming here to avoid potential systematic repetition. Classes selected in this way were classes 706, 712, 718, 723 (random number 1=6); 803, 809, 815, 821 (random number 2=3); and 904, 910, 916, 922 (random number 2=4). For chosen classes, I set coding frames for the education and occupation of parents/guardians., coded data and inputted it using SPSS version 10.5.

3 Findings Although it is not possible to map out a picture of all of a school's gender initiatives from documents alone, documents as a site of discursive conflicts illustrate the modification of policy and highlight, at least, the dominant discourse in its inclusion and exclusion of leading themes. Jupp and Norris (1993) put forward twelve questions to be asked (even if fully answering all remains implausible) in any critical documentary analysis. Drawing on their framework, in this section I develop an analytic chart broken up into categories of R/W/U/P (Right/Wrong/Unproblematic/Problematic) in order to analyse the grading of student work in three schools—two gender-initiative schools (Arched Door & Mountain City), and the other, a non-gender-initiative (Red Brick School) in Taiwan. Drawing on Scott (1990), my selection criteria in analysing students’ work were works' authenticity, credibility, representativeness and meaning. I have translated all written documents from the original Chinese. For Red Brick Junior, I analyse students’ writing; for Arched Door students’ bookmark designs and notes, and in the case of Mountain High, students' writing again.

Red Brick Junior- Composition For Red Brick, I chose one piece out of three prizewinners (ibid.). Considering selected student work from the viewpoint of the criteria of authenticity and credibility, all three pieces were written by members of the same age group and chosen simultaneously by the same teachers; all works were all genuine, original and free from distortion. On the score of representativeness and meaning, the following work shown in Box 1 was typical of students' production, while being relatively clear and comprehensible in terms of meaning.

Box 1: Extract from a prizewinning piece of work in the Composition Competition on Gender Equality in Education held in February 2005 in Red Brick Junior

….We do not need to abhor ‘patriarchy’ or ‘paternalism’. While there are good reasons for them to be eradicated, there are also good reasons why they emerged. In ancient times, in agricultural society, men were more powerful than women. Undoubtedly they had to go out for work; all the same, women had to stay at home doing house chores. Of course the situation has now changed. We have an equal society for both men and women. In this sense, we should treat ‘paternalism’ rationally, rather than just criticising it. What matters is what we are doing now rather than what we did before. It is right that we should look to the future and thoroughly put into practice equality between both sexes.

4 What are the real implications of ‘equality between both sexes’? How should we eradicate traditional sex stereotypes, allowing men and women to show their respective advantages in building an equal society? ‘Equality between both sexes’ does not mean that ‘women should find their place everywhere’. As a matter of fact, equality means that we should treat everything and everyone on the basis of ‘fairness’. So everybody should compete with one another fairly on the basis of their genuine abilities. Instead of gender, we should differentiate people by their abilities and interests. In addition to competition, people must support and help each other. Men cannot tease or despise women. The sexes should accept and recognise each other fairly. That is because in gender relations, people do not necessarily play specific roles thought suitable for someone of their gender. The only question is whether you properly qualify for the role or not. (Extract of work from a male student in year 7)

Applying the R/W/U/P chart allows us to elicit the underlying assumptions governing pedagogic discourses of gender equity in Red Brick School. As Figure 1 illustrated, the current situation of ‘an equal society for both men and women’ is deemed unquestionable or self-evident. Yet in the context of such an equal society as referred to by this writer, the division of labour between men and women appears to represent an unbreakable natural law. According to this logic, it would be ‘wrong’ to criticise patriarchy or paternalism or further to place women in jobs indiscriminately. The only ‘right’ criterion for the distribution of jobs is competence—‘equality means that we should treat everything and everyone on the basis of ‘fairness’. Finally, the writer stresses mutual respect and support between the sexes. As well as deriving from a sense of men's and women's abilities (or what the boy calls 'advantages') being premissed on different capacities, the writer's wish for mutual respect is consistent with teachers’ interpretation of gender equality, as I discuss in a later chapter. The essay also rationalises and arguably exculpates patriarchy by playing down history, by suggesting that patriarchy is a historical stage beyond which Taiwan has evolved. In this sense, any harking back to historical injustices, rather than concerning ourselves with present problems, is ‘problematic’ in the essay.

5 RIGHT WRONG 1.Orientation by ability 1.Criticism of patriarchy 2.Indiscriminate award of 2.Respect and support positions to females 3.Sex stereotypes 3.Freedom to show one’s advantages

UNPROBLEMATIC PROBLEMATIC 1. The statement of a currently 1. Irrational challenges to equal society ‘patriarchy’ 2. Division of labour 2. Talking about the past 3. ‘Both sexes’

Figure 1: An R/W/U/P analysis chart of a student’s writing

Juxtaposing school gender initiatives and Figure 1, we find certain correlated inconsistencies. This male student argues that we should aim to ‘eradicate traditional sex stereotypes’, in the meantime, allowing men and women to show their respective advantages’ so that we may subsequently ‘build an equal society’. His arguments fall prey to contradiction on account of his assumption of fundamental sex/gender differences dividing men and women. Implicitly, the idea seems to be that it would be possible to achieve ‘an equal society’ on a basis of properly advertising or using each sex's talents, through respecting the other sex, and through inter-sex cooperation. The essay bears the marks of a variety of conflicting discourses working through this articulate boy (possibly through teachers, parents or society at large), who reproduces social givens without considering his argument's logical consistency. It is worth noting, meanwhile, that homosexuality, transsexuality and multigender identities are all absent in this extract.

6 Arched Door Junior- bookmark-design A school-wide competition in Arched Door Junior asked students to design a bookmark on the theme of gender equity, annotated by an explication. Winning pieces were displayed on the campus bulletin board, where I photographed them with the permission of the relevant Director. I purposively selected four prizewinning bookmarks to fit my four criteria. Though I mislaid the photo of piece 4, the idea of the design remained intact in my research journal.

Conception:

When boys and girls get on well with each other, the world becomes a better place. Popular wisdom suggests women are disadvantaged, but for me gender inequality does not exist in our society. If we think about it from a different perspective, men and women eventually balance on the scale. I hope you are able to learn formulae and grammar in all subjects without forgetting the formula of gender balance in your daily life. (Year 8, Male)

Figure 2 Bookmark designed by student 1

Conception:

Equality or inequality does not exist between men and women. I do not believe that women perform worse than men. What I would like to express are men and women's different personality traits, while demonstrating equality between sexes. (Year 8, Female)

7 Figure 3 Bookmark designed by student 2

Conception:

Love is free. The wings on the card stand for freedom. Unfortunately she is controlled by the spring on the back. Only by unwinding the spring can she fly of her own will without limitations or burden. ‘Love’ does not mean ‘occupy’. (Year 8, Female)

Figure 4 Bookmark designed by student 3

8 Student 4: The idea of design (photo missing) Wherever we stand, either in Building 101 or in a trench, we are all equal. As we all stand at the same point, we are all equal. Men and women, young and old, we also stand somewhere on the same horizon. Men and women are the same. (Year 8)

The explications disclose a fascinating range of presuppositions and conjectures in respect of gender. Characterising them generally, gender equality is a fact in students' eyes, for whom gender inequality (students 1, 2, & 4) or any form of female disadvantage in society (students 1& 4) simply does not exist. As ‘we all stand at the same point’, men and women are innately equal (student 4). The bookmarks fail to examine the current situation vis-a-vis gender in society, endorsing the assumption that Taiwanese society has reached a state of gender equality. The bookmark depicting a seesaw (student 1) describes the genders as 'balanced', but shows the male figure on top or higher up both on the playground scale and in the image above. Yet even as students assert that gender inequality does not exist in society, they start putting forward solutions for making the world more equitable in terms of gender. Only through ‘think[ing] about [gender] from a different perspective’ (student 1), or by accepting and possessing bi-gender traits (student 2), students suggest, can we arrive at a beautiful or ‘gender-balanced world’ (student 1) realising ‘equality between both sexes’ (student 2).

Mountain City Junior- Composition Similar contradictions surface again in students’ compositions in Mountain City Junior school. When I asked to read their work, the Director of the Student Guidance Section gave me fourteen pieces of the ‘better’ students’ work from year 8, writing on the subject of ‘Gender Equality Leading to a Happy Life Forever’ (students' writing explicated their fan designs). Students’ work exhibited a very high degree of consistency in their ideas of the history of gender relations, and of the current situation and future prospects. Overwhelmingly students begin their writing by striving to correct the historical mistakes of assuming that ‘men are superior and women inferior’, of ‘valuing boys and devaluing girls’, and of construing ‘men as breadwinners and women as housekeepers’. Yet, in a contradictory manner, students both argue for the significance of eradicating gender stereotypes, and claim that Taiwanese society is broadly equal, with most Taiwanese people having accepted the concept of gender equality.4

4 For example, one student (piece no.11) explains that the reason for implementing gender education is that gender inequality still exists in countries other than Taiwan.

9 History mistake ‘Valuing boys and devaluing girls’ ‘Men superior, women Current situation ‘Eradication of sex stereotypes’ An equal society for both sexes ‘Evidence’ of ‘equality’: most mentioned figures: --Vice president Ms. Liou --Ms. Chen (President of a well-known business)

Outlook: Key to a happy life Respect

Figure 7.9 Pattern in fourteen students’ work

The most exemplified evidence for equality are two successful women in Taiwan, the vice president, Ms. Liou and a high-profile women entrepreneur, Ms. Chen. The key to a happy life, most students claim, is fostering mutual respect between women and men. Despite some small differences,5 most students follow the pattern above, suggesting that the qualification of students' work as 'better' substantially depends on its compliance with teachers' own value-judgments.

Conclusion Examiners' choices of prizewinners necessarily reward not just style or treatment but works' leading ideas as well. I took winners' efforts to some extent to reveal teachers' i.e. the examiners' perceptions of gender in education, as these presumably shaped pedagogic discourses and practices. Drawing on Jupp and Norris (1993), in this paper I develop an analytic chart broken up into categories of R/W/U/P (Right/Wrong/Unproblematic/Problematic) in order to analyse the grading of student work in three schools in Taiwan. My documentary analysis of students' work in the context of gender education has suggested that such education's context rarely exceeds narrow constructions of sexual health, sex roles, the gender binary, and the prevention of sexual harassment and attack.

5 One girl's work raises an essential question: “women’s capability is no worse than men’s, but why do men enjoy higher status and more power? What are the reasons? I am pursuing answers as well.’ Piece no.1 partly answers this question according to a biological determination, suggesting that men and women should cooperate according to their innate differences to improve society. Piece no.5 focuses on the interaction and relationship between the sexes.

10 References Ball, S. J. (1994) Education Reform: a critical and post-structural approach, Buckingham and Philadelphia: Open University Press.

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