Gender Role Stereotypes in Chinese Primary School Textbooks

This study examines gender role stereotypes as reflected in Chinese school textbooks. Twelve primary school (grades 1 to 6) Chinese language textbooks were analysed for their content. Four categories were identified: family roles, occupational roles, activity, and descriptive words. The results in all categories showed that male roles outnumbered female roles. The most stereotyped category was occupational roles, with a ratio of 3.97 in favour of male roles. In general, Chinese school textbooks still reflect the traditional gender role stereotypes. A comparison between this study and a similar Filipino study showed that both revealed gender role stereotypes, but Chinese textbooks displayed stereotypes in larger measure for all the categories. And the differences between the two studies, in terms of odds ratios, were significant. The implications of the findings are discussed in the context of gender role development and schooling.