American Journal of Educational Science
Articles Information
American Journal of Educational Science, Vol.1, No.5, Nov. 2015, Pub. Date: Sep. 26, 2015
Gender Bias in Primary School Mathematics Textbooks in Nigeria
Pages: 223-228 Views: 3355 Downloads: 3926
Authors
[01] Zinyahs Maris Zakka, Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Sciences, Mathematics and Creative Multimedia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
[02] Noor Azlan Bin Ahmad Zanzali, Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Sciences, Mathematics and Creative Multimedia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
Abstract
Mathematics textbooks are embedded with bias in favour of male characters which affects the self-esteem and self-confidence of female students. The study examines gender bias in primary schools mathematics textbooks in Nigeria. Content Analysis approach that involves the Descriptive Statistics tool was used to count the number of male and female and gender neutral characters. The frequency and percentage of male and female gender characters, and gender neutral characters were calculated. The findings of the study revealed that there is gender bias in favour of more male characters with prejudice to female ones in the two textbooks, especially more so in primary 5 mathematics textbook than primary 6. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that there is the need to create awareness of the existence of gender bias in mathematics textbooks through workshops and seminars for teachers, curriculum planner, policy makers and authors.
Keywords
Gender Bias, Gender Neutral Character, Content Analysis, and Mathematics Textbooks
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