ERIC ED535311: Reproducing Gender Inequality: A Critical Discourse Analysis of a Turkish Adult Literacy Textbook. Research Brief #7

1.3 MB·English

by  ERIC

Research Brief #7
Reproducing Gender Inequality: January 2011
A Cri(cid:415)cal Discourse Analysis of a
Turkish Adult Literacy Textbook1

Ramazan Gungor and Esther Prins
Key Findings Introduc(cid:415)on
Adult educa(cid:415)on curricula such as literacy textbooks The persistence of gender inequity in Turkey and
present blueprints for living, including different ways around the globe warrants closer scru(cid:415)ny of gender
of being and rela(cid:415)ng as men and women. However, ideologies in literacy texts. The purpose of this study
educators and scholars seldom consider the underly- was to examine how a new adult literacy textbook in
ing assump(cid:415)ons about gender in literacy workbooks, Turkey depicts the iden(cid:415)(cid:415)es of men and women. Cri(cid:415)-
especially in interna(cid:415)onal se(cid:427)ngs. This study used cal Discourse Analysis was used to analyze how gender
Cri(cid:415)cal Discourse Analysis (CDA) to examine how a roles and iden(cid:415)(cid:415)es were portrayed in visual images
new, prominent adult literacy textbook in Turkey and reading passages. This topic is important because
depicted male and female iden(cid:415)(cid:415)es. The textbook the People’s Educa(cid:415)on Centers (PECs), the state-
promoted two main gender Discourses, or sets of funded adult educa(cid:415)on provider in Turkey, adopted
ideas and values. The norma(cid:415)ve paren(cid:415)ng Discourse this textbook as the primary curriculum in 2008. Thus,
suggested that mothers are chiefly responsible for it will profoundly shape the gender iden(cid:415)(cid:415)es that thou-
childrearing and caretaking and that fathers are re- sands of adult learners envision for themselves, their
sponsible for discipline. The sexual division of labor children, and others. The study can also help educators
Discourse depicted men mainly in the public, outside in other countries understand how adult educa(cid:415)on cur-
world and women in the private, domes(cid:415)c sphere. ricula convey explicit and implicit messages that per-
By reinforcing dominant ideas of masculinity and petuate and/or ques(cid:415)on exis(cid:415)ng gender inequali(cid:415)es.
femininity, the text implies that these roles—and
gender inequi(cid:415)es—are normal and desirable. Background and Methods
In 2008, the Turkish Ministry of Na(cid:415)onal Educa(cid:415)on
Key Implica(cid:415)ons published a new adult literacy textbook and student
This study highlights the inherently poli(cid:415)cal nature of workbook, Ye(cid:415)şkinler Okuma Yazma Öğre(cid:415)mi ve Temel
literacy curricula and the ways that educa(cid:415)onal materi- Eği(cid:415)mi Kitabı (Textbook for Teaching Literacy and Basic
als both reflect and shape social, economic, and poli(cid:415)- Educa(cid:415)on, Keskin, et al., 2008). Sponsored by the Sup-
cal condi(cid:415)ons. Adult educators should cri(cid:415)cally exam- port to Basic Educa(cid:415)on Program, a result of coopera-
ine (a) the kinds of male and female iden(cid:415)(cid:415)es con- (cid:415)on between the European Union (EU) and the Turkish
veyed by the words and images in curricular materials Ministry of Na(cid:415)onal Educa(cid:415)on, the curriculum aimed
and (b) how these ideals reinforce and/or challenge to improve access to educa(cid:415)on, especially for women,
gender inequality in the family, workplace, educa(cid:415)on, and to increase the quality of formal and non-formal
and other spheres. In other words, how do the text- educa(cid:415)on (EU, 2007). The following research ques(cid:415)ons
books and other classroom materials open up or fore- guided the study: How does the text construct ideal
close new possibili(cid:415)es for men’s and women’s roles?
Educators should also provide opportuni(cid:415)es for learn-

Contact the lead author at: [email protected]
ers to reflect on the ideologies presented in the curric-
Goodling Ins(cid:415)tute for Research in Family Literacy
ular materials, while also using them to teach content.
405 Keller Building, University Park, PA 16802
Phone: [phone] E-mail: goodlingins(cid:415)[email protected]
You can learn more about Goodling Ins(cid:415)tute at
h(cid:425)p://www.ed.psu.edu/goodlingins(cid:415)tute

This publica(cid:415)on is available in alterna(cid:415)ve media on request.
Penn State is commi(cid:425)ed to affirma(cid:415)ve ac(cid:415)on, equal oppor-

tunity, and the diversity of its workforce. U.Ed. EDU 11-40
male and female iden(cid:415)(cid:415)es? How does the text rein- where children are interac(cid:415)ng with others, all but two
force or challenge prevailing concep(cid:415)ons of gender in (88%) include an adult female. When a family is pic-
Turkey? tured, both a man and woman appear with the chil-
dren. Not one image, however, depicts a father spend-
We used Cri(cid:415)cal Discourse Analysis (Gee, 2005) be- ing (cid:415)me with a child or a(cid:425)ending to his or her needs.
cause it is well-suited to analyzing how language and These results suggest that mothers are—and should
symbols produce ideologies, or taken-for-granted be—mainly responsible for raising children, a view
ideas about how the world is and ought to be. Follow- that reinforces contemporary gender ideologies in
ing Gee (2005), Discourse in this study refers both to Turkey (O’Neill & Guler, 2009).
language and cultural models, that is, “ways of com-
bining and integra(cid:415)ng language, ac(cid:415)ons, interac(cid:415)ons,
ways of thinking, believing, valuing, and using various
symbols, tools, and objects to enact a par(cid:415)cular social-
ly recognizable iden(cid:415)ty” (p. 21) such as “woman” or
“father.” The linguis(cid:415)c aspects of Discourses (e.g.,
reading passages) are known as discourse.

Analysis began with iden(cid:415)fica(cid:415)on of themes such as
family, workplace, or health in the textbook’s 54 read-
ing passages and poems. Segments of text that (a) in-
cluded more than one sentence and (b) were orga-
nized around the same theme(s) were selected for
further analysis. Gee’s (2005, p. 15) analy(cid:415)cal strategy
of lis(cid:415)ng other ways a sentence could have been Figure 1: Women as caretakers
wri(cid:425)en was used to iden(cid:415)fy alterna(cid:415)ves and possible
reasons a passage was wri(cid:425)en in a par(cid:415)cular way. The In “Rights and Responsibili(cid:415)es,” a passage about a
339 photographs and drawings were placed in one of family that is reloca(cid:415)ng for the man’s job, the father is
two groups: (a) those depic(cid:415)ng an interac(cid:415)on be- described as the disciplinarian. Instead of listening to
tween two or more people or (b) those showing only their mother’s request to assist with packing, the chil-
ar(cid:415)facts or only one person. We paid special a(cid:425)en(cid:415)on dren ignore and talk back to her, saying, “What’s your
to the la(cid:425)er since they provided clues regarding gen- problem this early in the morning?” They start packing
der interac(cid:415)ons. Depic(cid:415)ons of women and men in the for the move only when the father threatens to cut
textbook were compared to tradi(cid:415)onal Turkish gender their allowance and “playing privileges.” The text
iden(cid:415)(cid:415)es associa(cid:415)ng men with paid work and the pub- states that the children “did not have the courage to
lic sphere and women with caretaking work and the ask [their father] the reason”; they simply obeyed. The
private sphere (O’Neill & Guler, 2009). father is depicted as the family authority figure, paral-
leling tradi(cid:415)onal Turkish no(cid:415)ons of masculinity.
Findings
We found two norma(cid:415)ve gender Discourses, and re- Sexual Division of Labor Discourse
la(cid:415)ng to paren(cid:415)ng and the other to the sexual division The second Discourse portrays men as the household
of labor in the household and society (Moser, 1993). breadwinners and in public se(cid:427)ngs, whereas women
are mainly shown in closed spaces. For example, men
Paren(cid:415)ng Discourse are shown outside performing ac(cid:415)vi(cid:415)es such as doing
Of the 339 visual images, 70 (21%) depicted interac- construc(cid:415)on work (see Figure 2), selling merchandise
(cid:415)ons among people. In every instance where a child, in the market, working in a factory, or picking trash in
toddler, or baby appears, s/he is portrayed next to a a forest. On the other hand, women are mainly
woman, possibly a mother, older sister, or other rela- depicted in the kitchen, si(cid:427)ng around a table and
(cid:415)ve or caretaker (see Figure 1). Of the 16 images ea(cid:415)ng, watching TV, a(cid:425)ending to a baby, shopping in

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the market place, walking on the street, and kissing an curtains in a washing machine, dries them on a
elder’s hand (a sign of respect) at a family gathering. clothesline, and then irons them. Doing laundry is a
Such depic(cid:415)ons are congruent with tradi(cid:415)onal Turkish quintessen(cid:415)ally female household task, a labor-
concep(cid:415)ons of men as devoted to work in the public intensive chore in a country where driers are scarce
sphere and women as caretakers in the private sphere. and washing machines have been widely available for
only two decades.

Four reading passages depict men as the financial pro-
vider in the rela(cid:415)onship. In two passages, the men buy
the women jewelry; in the third the man is the newly-
wed husband, and the last indicates nothing about the
nature of the rela(cid:415)onship. Although buying jewelry
does not necessarily mean providing for the family,
this ac(cid:415)vity is significant because none of the reading
passages describe women giving valuable objects to
men. In the third story, Hayriye convinces her husband
to buy a new carpet, sta(cid:415)ng that it would be embar-
rassing for guests to see the old one. At first, the hus-
band replies, “We do not need a carpet,” but then is
Figure 2: Men as workers convinced because of Hayriye’s “explana(cid:415)ons.” That
the husband needed to be persuaded suggests that he
Women’s roles as housewives and caretakers is also had the ul(cid:415)mate authority over household spending.
reinforced by the reading passages. Three passages
describe women cooking for their “mates.” In one pas- Even when the women in these passages do provide
sage, Çiçek makes strawberry jam (reçel) to surprise for themselves financially, they are expected to con(cid:415)n-
her husband, who during breakfast the day before ue performing unpaid housework. Thus, the text both
murmured, “I wish there was reçel.” In the passage reflects and reinforces the second shi(cid:332) (Hochschild,
about Pınar, who cooks leek for her “mate,” the hus- 2003), an inequitable division of labor that remains
band’s contribu(cid:415)on to dinner is limited to se(cid:427)ng the “deeply entrenched” in Turkey (O’Neill & Guler, 2009,
table with his wife. Men’s limited role in cooking is p. 171). In a passage about Ferhat, a young woman
exemplified well in a third reading passage in which who works in a tex(cid:415)le shop, we learn that when wom-
Abdi (the man) asks Birsen (the woman) to make a en have a job and contribute economically to the
salad to have with their green beans. Birsen responds, household, they also do the housework. Because the
“Wash the tomatoes. You should make the salad.” In text describes this situa(cid:415)on in a ma(cid:425)er-of-fact man-
these passages, Turkish men expect their spouses to ner, it does not appear to be making a value state-
cook for them. However, they have changed slightly as ment. However, the failure to men(cid:415)on the unequal
they now help their wives set the table and occasional- sexual division of labor—we have no idea what men
ly make the salad. With their detailed descrip(cid:415)ons of do once they are home, for instance—implicitly vali-
cooking, the texts on leek and strawberry jam read dates this as a natural, fair arrangement.
more like recipes, sugges(cid:415)ng that an underlying pur-
pose may be to provide recipes to par(cid:415)cipants. This is Similarly, the textbook transmits conven(cid:415)onal ideas
significant considering that most of literacy par(cid:415)ci- about what kind of paid work is appropriate for men
pants are women, and it is women who do the cooking and women. In “Phone Call,” two women talk about a
in the texts. Thus, the assump(cid:415)on may be that the par- handmade tablecloth. One of the women, an ar(cid:415)san
(cid:415)cipants will use these recipes at home. who creates home decora(cid:415)ons, writes down the size
of the tablecloth being ordered. The associa(cid:415)on of
In another paragraph-long passage, readers are intro- cra(cid:332)s with women is also evident in a five-sentence
duced to Ülker, a woman who washes the dirty tulle passage about Eda and her grandmother, who weave a

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kilim (a rug tradi(cid:415)onally hand-woven by women). Note Although communica(cid:415)on is important, this focus ob-
that Eda was not described as, say, a shop owner who scures the social structures that contribute to rela(cid:415)on-
sells kilims to tourists in Istanbul, in which case she al strife. In a country where physical violence against
would enjoy significantly higher earnings. women is common, where women have less decision-
making power in the household, where women have
The women’s informal economic ac(cid:415)vi(cid:415)es contrast primary responsibility for childrearing and domes(cid:415)c
sharply with the story of Zeki, a man who, upon com- work, and where women’s sexuality and physical mo-
ple(cid:415)ng a literacy class, enrolls in a computer course bility are controlled by men (Parla, 2001), it is unrealis-
and, to the surprise of his friends, goes on to “work on (cid:415)c and misleading to claim that adop(cid:415)ng a par(cid:415)cular
computers.” We learn at the end of the story that communica(cid:415)on style would resolve such problems.
“Zeki now wants to work in a private company.” By
choosing to portray women as cra(cid:332)speople, a poorly Conclusion and Recommenda(cid:415)ons
paid informal economic ac(cid:415)vity, and men as profes- The reading passages and images in this curriculum
sionals working in rela(cid:415)vely well-paid fields such as depict not only how the world is, but also how it ought
technology, these passages tacitly condone gender to be. As such, it transmits ideologies that jus(cid:415)fy gen-
stra(cid:415)fica(cid:415)on in economic ac(cid:415)vi(cid:415)es. der hierarchies as natural. Since this is the dominant
textbook in Turkish adult literacy programs and the
In addi(cid:415)on to providing financial stability and pursuing majority of these literacy par(cid:415)cipants are women, the
professional careers, men are portrayed in the text- curriculum shapes how adult learners view masculinity
book as authority figures, both in and outside of the and femininity, childrearing, and gender roles and re-
family. For instance, in a short reading passage about sponsibili(cid:415)es in the family, society, and workplace;
two friends who share their troubles, the female char- how they enact their gender iden(cid:415)(cid:415)es; and the kinds
acter only listens when the man is talking. A(cid:332)er shar- of iden(cid:415)(cid:415)es they envision for themselves.
ing her worries, the female character receives
“wisdom” (ondan akıl aldı) from him. Although there The textbook’s sexual division of labor Discourse does
are passages in which men and women interact, none not challenge gender inequality in the Turkish labor
depicts a female character giving advice to a man. market, as evidenced by women’s low rate of par(cid:415)ci-
pa(cid:415)on in the paid labor force (26.1%, Gürsel, Uysal-
Finally, by presen(cid:415)ng communica(cid:415)on as the solu(cid:415)on Kolaşin, & Dinçer, 2009) and their longer dura(cid:415)on of
to overcoming troubles in roman(cid:415)c rela(cid:415)onships, the unemployment compared to men (Gürsel, Darbaz, &
literacy primer ignores the systemic gender inequi(cid:415)es Güner, 2009). Although labor market par(cid:415)cipa(cid:415)on
that give rise to rela(cid:415)onal problems. For instance, in a studies assume that increasing the number of ac(cid:415)vely
passage describing how a woman convinces a man employed women in Turkey would reduce poverty and
(presumably her partner) to buy a carpet, the last sen- strengthen the na(cid:415)onal economy, the textbook we
tence states, “They were both content as they could studied depicts a world where women are mainly re-
solve this problem through talking.” stricted to the home.

The emphasis on communica(cid:415)on is more significant in Female earnings in Turkey are considered addi(cid:415)onal
the passage, “Communica(cid:415)on in the Family.” A(cid:332)er income since men are the main breadwinners (Gürsel,
sta(cid:415)ng that “the most important communica(cid:415)on in Darbaz, & Güner, 2009). When evalua(cid:415)ng a possible
the family is between spouses,” the text advises read- job opportunity, women take into account the value of
ers to be honest in expressing their feelings; to use their domes(cid:415)c work, which might be socially preferred
tac(cid:415)le communica(cid:415)on; to avoid making generaliza- to paid work. Lack of affordable childcare makes the
(cid:415)ons, lecturing their spouse, and blaming them in ex- situa(cid:415)on for urban working women especially difficult.
pressing frustra(cid:415)ons; to maintain eye contact; and to This adult literacy textbook, then, does li(cid:425)le to help
try to understand each other’s viewpoints. Both pas- women imagine new occupa(cid:415)onal possibili(cid:415)es.
sages imply that communica(cid:415)on skills are the underly- Similarly, the Discourse that associates childrearing
ing cause of, and solu(cid:415)on to, rela(cid:415)onal problems. and caretaking with mothers and discipline with fa-

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thers is congruent with exis(cid:415)ng gender roles and iden-  Provide ample opportuni(cid:415)es for learners to reflect
(cid:415)(cid:415)es in Turkey. Despite recent changes in a(cid:427)tudes on the ideologies presented in the curricular mate-
among some Turkish women, the dominant view holds rials, while also using them to teach content. Guide
women responsible for childcare and housework even learners in iden(cid:415)fying, discussing, and cri(cid:415)quing the
when they work outside the home (O’Neill & Guler, no(cid:415)ons of gender found in these materials.
2009). Furthermore, one of the textbook passages sug-
gests that children look up to their fathers, not their References
mothers, as a legi(cid:415)mate source of authority. EU Support to Basic Educa(cid:415)on in Turkey. (2007). Pro-
ject Fiche. Retrieved October 1, 2008, from h(cid:425)p://
Together, the Discourses in this literacy textbook rein- ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/
force prevailing gender ideologies in Turkey, which selected_project/tu_educa(cid:415)on_en.pdf
hold that “men are responsible for family decisions Gee, J. P. (2005). An introduc(cid:415)on to discourse analysis:
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care of the house and children regardless of whether Gürsel, S., Darbaz, B., & Güner, D. (2009). Women
or not they are also in the paid work force” (O’Neill & have longer unemployment spells. (Research Brief
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nothing to expose or challenge these ideas. This does Center for Economic and Social Research.
not necessarily mean that literacy par(cid:415)cipants passive- Gürsel, S, Uysal-Kolaşin, G., & Dinçer, M. A. (2009). The
ly accept such messages or that the material is useless, rise in the labor force par(cid:415)cipa(cid:415)on and the decline in
as it could hypothe(cid:415)cally be used in classrooms with a employment of the males are the driving forces be-
cri(cid:415)cal perspec(cid:415)ve. Should adult educators wish to hind the increase in the unemployment rate.
ques(cid:415)on the assump(cid:415)ons about gender in the literacy (Research Brief #031). Istanbul, Turkey: Bahçeşehir
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can aid such a cri(cid:415)cal reading. Hochschild, A. R., with Machung, A. (2003). The second
shi(cid:332). New York: Penguin Books.
The study suggests the following implica(cid:415)ons: Keskin, Ü., Taydaş, N., Başkaya, S., Yıldırım, K., Aytaç,
H., & Özen, H. (2008). Ye(cid:415)şkinler Okuma Yazma
 Recognize that all the materials (e.g., workbooks, Öğre(cid:415)mi ve Temel Eği(cid:415)mi Kitabı [Textbook for teach-
videos, Web sites) used in adult educa(cid:415)on are in- ing literacy and basic educa(cid:415)on]. Ankara, Turkey:
herently poli(cid:415)cal. In other words, they can rein- Ministry of Na(cid:415)onal Educa(cid:415)on.
force and/or challenge society’s widely held beliefs Moser, C. (1993). Gender planning and development:
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 Cri(cid:415)cally examine the kinds of gender iden(cid:415)(cid:415)es O’Neill, M., & Guler, F. (2009). The not so new Turkish
conveyed by the words and images in curricular woman: A sta(cid:415)s(cid:415)cal look in two Istanbul neighbor-
materials. For instance, how do paren(cid:415)ng-related hoods. Journal of Interna(cid:415)onal Women’s Studies. 11
materials depict mothers and fathers? Do the men (2), 157-174.
and women in texts engage in gender stereotyped Parla, A. (2001). The honor of the state: Virginity ex-
ac(cid:415)vi(cid:415)es or also in non-tradi(cid:415)onal ones (e.g., men amina(cid:415)ons in Turkey. Feminist Studies, 27(1), 65–84.
cooking, women working as engineers)? What kinds
of personal quali(cid:415)es are assigned to men and wom-
en (e.g., asser(cid:415)ve men vs. docile women)? _________
 Cri(cid:415)cally examine how these ideals reinforce and/ 1This research brief is drawn from Gungor, R., & Prins, E.
or challenge gender inequality in the family, work- (2010). Reproducing gender inequality: A Cri(cid:415)cal Discourse
Analysis of a Turkish adult literacy textbook. In P. Gandy, S.
place, educa(cid:415)on, and other spheres . That is, how
Tieszen, C. Taylor-Hunt, D. Flowers, & V. Sheared (Eds.), Joint
do curricular materials open up or foreclose new
Conference Proceedings of the 51st Adult Educa(cid:415)on Research
possibili(cid:415)es for men’s and women’s roles? Do these Conference and the 3rd Western Region Research Conference on
materials help learners envision how men and the Educa(cid:415)on of Adults (pp. 170-176). Sacramento: California
women could share power more equitably? State University.

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