What Does It Mean to Be a Girl? Teachers’ Representations of Gender in Supplementary Reading Materials for South African Schools

Abstract

Education reform, including methods to create greater gender equality, is an ongoing process in post-Apartheid South Africa. Using an African feminism theoretical framework and a critical content analysis approach, we examined the representation of female characters in a subset of supplementary reading titles created under an international development project. Through constant comparison of prepositions in the books, our findings indicated that the authors of these books (South African teachers) depicted females in complex, multifaceted, and, at times, contradictory roles. These panoramic roles created by the authors appeared to be situated in the very practical and lived experiences of children in South Africa. This study has implications for curriculum development in international settings.

Contemplating and Extending the Scholarship on Children’s and Young Adult Literature

“…(p. xvi) Furthermore, across both African American and African youth literature, theoretically and methodologically, scholars increasingly rely on intersecting theoretical frames and critical analytic approaches to better capture the historical, political, global, and heterogeneous nature of Black culture. For example, several important studies that exemplify these trends explore the images and messages conveyed with respect to Black girlhood (e.g., Brooks, Sekayi, Savage, Waller, & Picot, 2010;Dentith et al, 2016;Rountree, 2008).…”

“…Some researchers, however, carry out in-depth textual analysis of diverse children’s and young adult literature as distinct from its role in reader response or literacy instruction. Only one study recently published in JLR stands out in that regard (Dentith, Sailors, & Sethusha, 2016). Below, we place this investigation within scholarship found outside of JLR .…”

“…Finally, JLR recently published an article by Dentith et al (2016) titled, “What Does It Mean to Be a Girl? Teachers’ Representations of Gender in Supplementary Reading Materials for South African Schools.” This qualitative study took up a familiar but now global issue about depictions of both ethnicity and gender in South African curriculum.…”

“…This study used critical content analysis to examine books written by cultural insiders (mainly Black, female South Africans). Dentith et al (2016) selected “books that represented features of realistic fiction; that is, stories that focused on the fidelity of life” (p. 402). Key themes that emerged include (a) female characters were multifaceted, (b) relationships matter to female characters, and (c) female characters are valued members of society.…”

“…Finally, JLR recently published an article by Dentith et al (2016) titled, "What Does It Mean to Be a Girl? Teachers' Representations of Gender in Supplementary Reading Materials for South African Schools."…”