Teachers’ Perceptions of Gender Representation in English Textbooks in China

Abstract

Textbooks play a significant role in shaping young learners’ values, especially in contexts like China, where traditional gender structure is deeply rooted in the culture and textbooks are centrally compiled and widely used. Given their influence on students’ perceptions of social roles, gender representation in these materials is particularly important. This study investigates Chinese English teachers’ perceptions of gender representation in their textbooks and examines whether these perceptions align with actual content. A sequential mixed-methods approach was employed, beginning with semi-structured interviews conducted with English teachers from different educational levels and provinces in China. Subsequently, a corpus-based textual and visual analysis was conducted on one widely used English textbook (PEP 7A). The findings of interviews revealed that most teachers were unaware of gender bias in the textbooks and generally perceived them as gender-neutral, often citing their government approval as evidence of fairness. However, the textbook analysis uncovered subtle gender imbalances, such as the underrepresentation of males in domestic roles and limited diversity in female occupational and recreational depictions. These findings suggest a gap between teachers’ perceptions and the implicit messages conveyed through textbook content. The study highlights the need for greater discussion on gender issues in the classroom and recommends that middle school is an optimal period for introducing gender topics to students. Enhancing teacher awareness is also essential to fostering a more gender-equitable learning environment.