How Do Pre-Service Primary School Teachers Evaluate Gender Equality in Primary School Science Textbooks?

Abstract

Textbooks play a key role in shaping students' images of society and its actors. Based on the importance of this active role, in this study, third and fourth grade primary school science textbooks were examined in terms of gender equality by female pre-service primary school teachers who will become the practitioners using these textbooks. Thus, this research aims at revealing the experiences of pre-service primary school teachers based on their examination of primary school science textbooks and the evaluations used in their textbook reviews. The research was conducted using a phenomenology research design in the context of a qualitative method. Ten female pre-service primary school teachers participated in the study, which lasted seven weeks, and the data were collected through a textbook review report and a semi-structured interview form. A content analysis method was used to assess the data. The results of the study were discussed within the framework of five main themes: gender distribution, gender roles and stereotypes, the role of the teacher, the role of the textbooks, and science textbook evaluation tendencies. Suggestions were made based on these reviews.