Rochester Institute of Technology RIT Scholar Works Theses 7-2020 Gender Based Social Expectations: An analysis of the role of textbooks in primary school Gerta Ymeri [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.rit.edu/theses Recommended Citation Ymeri, Gerta, "Gender Based Social Expectations: An analysis of the role of textbooks in primary school" (2020). Thesis. Rochester Institute of Technology. Accessed from This Senior Project is brought to you for free and open access by RIT Scholar Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of RIT Scholar Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Title of the project Gender Based Social Expectations: An analysis of the role of textbooks in primary school An Honors Society Project Gerta Ymeri Advisor: Venera Demukaj, PhD Second Reader: Edona Maloku, PhD candidate July 2020 1 Abstract This project analyzes the presence of gender stereotypes in the textbooks used in elementary school, with a special focus on the literature used for children in the first up to the fifth grade. This study is mainly focused on gender stereotypical signs in texts and illustrations on areas such as family roles, physical appearance, generic nouns and pronouns, and professions. It further showcases the impact that these textbooks, specifically women and men representation have on children on their future endeavors. The study represents existing evidence in Kosovo, including information on Kosovar education, legal framework, and similar research to this project. Research for this project was conducted by a combination of primary and secondary data. The secondary data was gathered from different sources; whereas, the primary data was gathered through semi- structured interviews as well as small scale experiments. The results gathered confirm that social expectations based on gender are present and they cover a great portion of space in school textbooks. The existing gender stereotypes in school textbooks play an important role on child development and enforcement of these stereotypes in the society overall. 2 Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. 2 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................................. 5 List of Tables & Graphs ........................................................................................................................... 6 List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................... 6 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 7 2. The scope of the research ................................................................................................................... 9 3. Research Questions ............................................................................................................................ 9 4. Methodology .................................................................................................................................... 10 4.1 Secondary data ........................................................................................................................... 10 4.2 Primary Data ............................................................................................................................... 10 4.2.1 Semi- structured interviews ................................................................................................. 10 4.2.2. Experiments ........................................................................................................................ 11 4.3 Limitations .................................................................................................................................. 12 5. Literature Review.............................................................................................................................. 13 5.2. Global evidence- Gender Stereotypes in Textbooks ................................................................... 13 5.2.1. Family Roles ........................................................................................................................ 13 5.2.2. Generic Nouns and Pronouns .............................................................................................. 15 5.2.3. Physical Appearance ........................................................................................................... 16 5.2.4. Professions .......................................................................................................................... 18 5.3. Existing evidence in Kosovo ....................................................................................................... 20 5.3.1. A brief introduction to Kosovar Education .......................................................................... 20 5.3.2. Drawing lines with the legal framework .............................................................................. 20 5.3.3. Research conducted nationally ........................................................................................... 21 6. Results: Research conducted in Kosovo ............................................................................................ 23 6.1. Family Roles ............................................................................................................................... 23 6.2. Generic Nouns and Pronouns ................................................................................................... 27 6.2.1 Loopholes in the law ............................................................................................................ 28 6.2.2 Drawing lines with textbooks .............................................................................................. 28 6.3 Physical Appearance .................................................................................................................. 31 3 6.4 Professions.................................................................................................................................. 33 7. Recommendations ................................................................................................................... 37 7.1 Gender-neutral classrooms trainings .................................................................................... 37 7.2. Tweaking content .................................................................................................................. 37 7.3. Law reform............................................................................................................................ 38 7.4. Creating a commission .......................................................................................................... 38 8. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 39 9. References ........................................................................................................................................ 40 10. Appendices ..................................................................................................................................... 43 10.1 Annex A- Teacher’s Questions ................................................................................................... 43 10.2 Annex B- Interviewees Questions ............................................................................................. 44 10.2.1- A ........................................................................................................................................ 44 10.2.2- B ........................................................................................................................................ 44 10.3 Annex C- Consent Forms ........................................................................................................... 45 10.3.1 Interviewees ....................................................................................................................... 45 10.3.2 School Principals................................................................................................................. 47 10.3.3 Parents ............................................................................................................................... 49 10.3.4 Assent Form ....................................................................................................................... 51 10.4 Annex D- Children Questions .................................................................................................... 53 10.4.1 Experiment one .................................................................................................................. 53 10.4.2 Experiment two .................................................................................................................. 56 4 Acknowledgments I want to express my deepest gratitude to my mentor, Dr. Venera Demukaj for the never- ending support, patience, motivation, enthusiasm and readiness to help me throughout this project and many other endeavors. Without you, this project would not have been completed. I want to express