Browsing by Author "Iisakkila, Leila"

Previous textbook studies (ia Tainio & Steel 2010; Dementjeff 2011) have shown that textbook images and texts present gender stereotypically and that women are under-represented in pictures and texts. In my research I studied representations of gender and gender composition in one pre-school textbook. The purpose of this study is to examine how different sexes are presented the Huiske pre-school materials (2014). The study examines the pre-school textbook’s illustrations and texts. Using qualitative research methods the study analyzed whether the material is gendered, and what gender-related values ​​and assumptions the material presents or maintains. Based on the material as well as the theory base formed of gender studies and representation studies this study looked for answers to the research questions: What kind of gender representations are presented in this pre-school education material? How do representations reproduce traditional gender norms? How have the traditional representations been broken? The research material was a preschool educational material Huiske, which was published in 2014 by Lasten Keskus and includes a teacher's guide and a children's exercise book. The study analyzed the excercise book illustrations and texts, and picked the most important examples of the kinds of representations the material contains. The book’s characters, their external features, clothing and traits were the core of the examples used. The research method was qualitative content analysis. The study revealed that Huiske contains very few stereotypes of gender. The study showed that there were more masculine than feminine characters. The difference between the masculine and feminine characters is emphasized in the external aspects, and some externally masculine characters are connected to traditional masculine traits. One of the characters is feminine the basis of external characteristics, but the character is not associated with traditional feminine characteristics. On the whole Huiske is gender-sensitive and does not maintain traditional gender stereotypes and representations.