Textbooks as Value-laden: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Moral Values Representation in Primary School EFL Textbooks

Abstract

The inculcation of moral values in English textbooks, particularly in primary schools, has been a global concern in recent decades due to English’s growing importance as a global lingua franca and the impact it carries. Hence, the present study aimed to: (1) elucidate the realisation of moral values discursively represented in three primary school English textbooks entitled English Chest 1, 2 and 3, and (2) determine the extent of the textbooks’ contents in teaching the moral values. Fairclough’s (1995, 2013) framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) integrated with Kress & Van Leeuwen’s (2006) Visual Grammar Theory (VGT) was applied to elucidate the depiction of moral values in the textbooks. Additionally, Isaacs’ (2001) framework of Developmental Moral Values and Smetana’s (2006) Social Domain Theory were also adopted to look at how the contents of the textbooks teach moral values. The results show that (1) modesty (8,99%), curiosity (8,44%), perseverance (7,08%), and friendship (6,53%) are the most frequently occurring values in the three EFL textbooks. (2) The discursive realisation has revealed that certain fundamental moral values such as audacity, sociability, industriousness, respect for others, and responsibility are taught through the depictions of verbal-visual images in both school and familial contexts. Importantly, the three EFL textbooks have fairly adhered to the Indonesian moral (character) education goals and stipulation. They also provide implications on both primary school students and English teachers’ pedagogical, linguistic, and moral development so as to raise EFL textbook designers’ awareness to develop more morally-laden content.

Moral Values Representation through Speech Acts in Indonesian EFL Textbooks: A Critical Discourse Analysis

“…The findings on the representation of moral values in the present study are in line with several previous studies, particularly those that investigated the textbooks that were published and extensively utilized in Indonesia in primary schooling. This study's depiction of curiosity as one of the most dominant values was similar to the findings of Sitio et al (2023). On the other hand, although they weren't primarily shown in the textbooks, the other prominent values-honesty and friendliness-were similarly represented in earlier research (Sulistiyo et al, 2020;Puspitasari et al, 2021;Pratiwi et al, 2023).…”

“…All findings about moral values portrayed in the current study are not entirely consistent with previous studies, as textbooks from various authors and publishers ideologically present and promote distinct and varied moral values. The variations identified in the proportion of moral values prevailing in these textbooks suggest that the writers and textbook designers have placed more emphasis on instilling a specific set of values in pupils according to their age (Sitio et al, 2023). It was discovered that some values were present in the textbooks examined in the earlier studies but excluded from the textbooks examined in the current study, and vice versa.…”

“…That's such a surprise! Many studies have examined the representation of moral values in textbooks all over the world (Feng, 2019;Pratiwi et al, 2023;Puspitasari et al, 2021;Sitio et al, 2023;Sulistiyo et al, 2020;Tan et al, 2018). Both local and global researchers mostly focused on how moral values are represented in verbal and visual texts and interpreted the meaning of the texts by using socio semiotic framework (Feng, 2019;Puspitasari et al, 2021).…”