The Construction of Gender and Identities in PTB English Textbooks of Single National Curriculum

Abstract

The study's main goal is to investigate the relevance between the objectives set by the government of Pakistan behind the implementation of the single national curriculum and the presented content in the English textbooks (Grade 2-5) of Punjab Textbook Board under SNC criteria. The study looks at how the English textbooks (PTB) can help people achieve the said three objectives out of seven, such as, upward social mobility, conforming to international trends, and equity in education. This study aims to focus whether the content of PTB English textbooks (Grade 2-5) is appropriate to meet the expected objectivity through the perspective of gender representation, which is very much significant to develop a balanced society. The study is not being taken up under the umbrella of feminist movement but in the context of observing neutrality among the gender representation that will ultimately lead to obtain the said objectives. It’s a scientifically recognized fact that the early stage of cognitive development plays a major role in constructing the individuals’ ideologies, gender-based concepts and their roles in society. This study aims to examine the gender representation and portrayal of male and female through their occupational roles, home chores, sports and social activities and adjectives used to describe them. A mixed method approach as a research method has been chosen for the project, Chi square test has been applied to the quantitative data to examine the difference between observed frequencies and expected frequencies of gender representation through determined categories in the content of the English textbooks (Grade 2-5) of PTB. The results revealed that women in English textbooks (Grade 2-5) of PTB are underrepresented as men are more depicted in number of occupational and social roles and they are not responsible for domestic chores, they have been presented as providers and women have been shown as helpers and delicate creature of the society. At the end of this research some recommendations are suggested required to the content and solutions to the existing issues in these books to make it more fruitful and a balanced one.