Gender Stereotypes and Elementary School Teachers

Osaďan, Róbert

doi:10.1515/atd-2015-0057

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Considering the ideas discussed above, post-structuralism has enabled gender issues to be raised in cultural studies. Therefore, gender has been a discipline of social sciences only in recent decades dating back to 1960s (Butler, 1990;Lewis & Mills, 2003;Morgan, 2007;Nelson, 1993Nelson, , 1999Osaďan, 2012;Osaďan, & Safir, 2014;Peters, 1996). Gender is an umbrella term that includes queer theory and LGBT issues as well.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Issues in English Language Teaching: Views from Turkey

Ordem

Ulum

2020

Acta Educationis Generalis

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Introduction: Research into gender diversity and equality of gender in humanities has been mounting since 1960s, when post-modernism and post-structuralism emerged as a reaction to metanarratives of modernization. Methods and approaches in ELT also arose in the same years. However, queer and LGBT identities were intentionally ignored in ELT discipline and departments, although English as a lingua franca was already hailed in the inner circle. This study aimed to unearth the views of young adult learners of English regarding LGBT. Two data collection instruments were administered. A standard scale composed of 21 items that measure homosexuality attitudes was given to the participants (N= 113). In addition, a semi-structured interview was prepared to elicit the participants’ views (N=12). The results of the study show that most of the participants showed a positive attitude towards LGBT. However, they reported that this topic was never addressed in ELT settings.Methods: The study was qualitatively designed to elicit the views of young adult learners regarding homosexuality. A standard scale developed by Kite and Deaux (1986) and which was psychometrically sound and reliable to identify the attitudes towards homosexuality and a descriptive phenomenographic research method were used to learn the ideas of the participants. Phenomenographic research method aims to elicit lived experiences of individuals by using experiential description. Although there were 600 young adult learners of English, only 113 of them volunteered to participate in the study. The participants studied English as a foreign language at a public university in Turkey. The average age of the participants was 18. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 12 of the participants.Results: The findings of the study represent that most of the participants ascribed positive attitudes towards homosexuality. Further, a big number of the informants put forward the significance of such concepts as freedom and respect for personal preferences. Besides, an average number of respondents attributed homosexuality as a hormonal disorder encountered in society. The majority of the respondents put an emphasis on the taboo of religion. They revealed that homosexuality is a taboo which is strictly forbidden in Islam and such issues should not be voiced explicitly in our daily life.Discussion: This study dealt with the issue of LGBT and homosexuality in foreign language settings by taking the views of young adult learners of English into consideration. The results show that homosexuality representation is insufficient in ELT textbooks, curriculum and materials. Although most of the participants showed a positive attitude towards the representation of homosexuality, they noted that LGBT was never addressed in classroom settings. Similarly, Gray (2013) also emphasizes that LGBT identity was not represented in ELT, though considerable progress has been legally made in the UK. Nelson (2002) strongly recommends that queering ESL through discourses may help ESL develop a more diverse attitude towards LGBG identity.Limitations: This study was limited to only young adult learners in English language teaching. In addition, only two collection data tools, a standard homosexuality scale and a semi-structured interview form, were used. Besides, convenience sampling was used. The sampling was confined to 113 participants for the scale and 12 learners for the semi-structured interview form.Conclusions: The results show that most of the participants have positive attitudes towards acceptance of homosexual identities. Although ELT textbooks and materials tend to discard LGBT identity, teachers and students can queer ELT, EFL and ESL classrooms by using the tenets of progressive education and critical pedagogy. The use of participatory approach can be reinforced and expanded in ELT world encompassing not only inner circle but also outer and expanding circles. Materials, tasks and activities need to be updated in ELT curriculum. The first discussions of equality of gender in post-modernist and post-structuralist theories can be perceptibly seen in ELT by endorsing and developing critical pedagogy.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Issues in English Language Teaching: Views from Turkey

Ordem

Ulum

2020

Acta Educationis Generalis

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From the Theory of Play into the Practice in Kindergarten: Verification of the Original Didactic Toys for Preschool Children

Navrátilová

Puhrová

2017

Acta Educationis Generalis

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Introduction: This study deals with the phenomenon of play in the preschool environment. Based on establishing the links between theories and practice applicable in preschool conditions, the students from study programme of Preschool Teacher Training at Faculty of Humanities at Tomas Bata University in Zlín created a set of original didactic toys for preschool children. The main objective of the study was to verify this set in kindergartens and to find out how teachers perceive play and how they work with toys in preschools. The study also focused on preschool children´s view of play and toys. Methods: We have chosen a qualitative research design to explore the research problem and to answer the research questions. The data collection in this research was based on participant observation and interviews with the participants who were preschool children and their teachers from four selected kindergartens in Zlín Region in the Czech Republic. These were 12 teachers with secondary or university education (Bc. degree), aged 23 to 48, with a length of practice from 1 year to 25 years at the position of kindergarten teacher. The research study then included interviews and video recordings of 77 preschool children (age 2 to 6 years). Results: Data gathered by a qualitative research with preschool children in the kindergarten environment represent a partial picture on the importance of toys and playing with them. The results emerging from the observation and interviewing the preschool children and their teachers shows the way of toy selection with the importance of variability of possible modifications of the toys offered to children in the preschool environment. The progress of play with the verified didactic toys was influenced by the need for a partner in the play, the role of the teacher, the chances to freely discover the elements of toys. We found a restrictive perspective expressed by the participating preschool teachers about the dominant influence on selected toys in kindergarten environment. Discussion: The findings suggest that it is not prospective to focus solely on the toy itself. In agreement with Pyle and Bigelow (2015), it is possible to monitor the impact of playing on the development of children's social, emotional and educational skills. Based on the observation and interviews with both children and teachers, we have come to the view that it is increasingly important to support the didactic thinking of preschool teachers. We also considered the issue in the sense of feedback for authors of the toys and for future preschool teachers. Child-based research opens up the opportunity to interpret and analyse their own childhood perspective reflected in their own social worlds, emphasizing the complexity of understanding their experiences through the eyes of adults. Limitations: We consider important to point out certain limits of the presented research, given the circumstances that a sample of 15 classrooms observed in the total number of 4 kindergartens cannot bring results to be presented for wider generalizability. The intentional choice of toys for preschool children could also belong to the possible limits of this research. Conclusions: Children do not choose a toy for the purpose of conscious development of fine motor skills or with the aim to strengthen their social relationships with other children. Children just play. And they can play with toys similar to the original products made by students and verified in this research. Choosing toys and activities suitable for preschool children can also be a challenge for experienced teachers.

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