The Representation of Gender Treatment in The Emancipated Curriculum ELT Textbook for Junior High School Students

Abstract

The issue of gender is still debated in Indonesia since it may cause a large impact on society. In reducing gender issues, it can be started through formal education. As one of an important components in education, textbooks have a big influence on the students’ mindset related to gender. Therefore, the present study investigated the representation of gender treatment in the Emancipated curriculum ELT textbook for junior high school students published by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Indonesia using a Critical Discourse Analysis by Fairclough (1995) focusing on the visual artifacts in the textbook. The whole data analysis showed that the textbook treated male and female stereotypically around ten times and equally around eight times which means the textbook treated both genders more stereotypically. Therefore, the textbook authors and the teachers must be careful in designing and using the textbook for the students.