This dissertation has contributed to the debate on the depiction of women in visual images in selected 12th grade history textbooks. This dissertation finds that the visual representation of women in history textbooks remains a barrier to the promotion of gender equality in South African schools.
Chapter One
Introduction - Setting the Scene
- Introduction
- Background and Context of my study
- Rationale and Motivation
- Purpose and focus of the study
- Research Questions
- Research Design and Methodology
- Conclusion
Therefore, this study undertakes an analysis of the female images in the South African history textbooks for grade 12. Purposive sampling was used to earmark the portion of the text consisting of images of women in the selected history books .
Chapter Two Literature Review
Introduction
The nature and power of textbooks
Young girls and boys generally see the world as it is presented to them, as depicted in the textbooks. In the year (2011) teachers were given these books to teach and were told by the subject advisors to use them because during the fourth semester the students will be tested based on what is in the recommended workbooks stands.
The nature and power of history textbooks
Literature reveals that history textbooks have been used as an instrument to promote ideas of the political party in power at that time and period. 17 So far, the literature reveals that history textbooks have somehow been used to deliver political issues that only promoted the ideas of racial inferiority and white supremacy in South Africa.
How does the literature reveal manipulation in history textbooks to carry hidden political ideas?
History textbooks greatly influence the teaching and learning of facts, data, ideologies and terms used in history. Furthermore, the reviewed literature also reveals that history textbooks are in most cases written from a male perspective.
What does the literature on women in textbooks reveal?
According to Du Bois (1986) gender equality appears in history textbooks because of the way language is used when relating to the writing and depiction of women in history textbooks. His argument is based on the fact that language is biased thus creating gender inequality in history texts.
What does the literature on women in history textbooks reveal?
In this regard, van der Spuy (1992) points out that power and gender imbalances also play a role in the portrayal and writing of women in history textbooks. Second, studying images allows us to complement the conversation about women's inclusion by exploring how women are portrayed in African American history textbooks.”
Students, especially in high school, need to be able to identify and relate to the images they see in their history texts. The above statement will then be linked to the next sub-section where the literature will reveal the power of images in history texts.
The power of images in history textbooks
Understanding visual imagery always begins with the perception of visual images that artists, illustrators, and graphic designers use to depict a story and communicate a message to readers. Previous literature reveals that the positioning of an image plays a key role in encouraging the reader to connect with that image.
What has literature revealed on how women are depicted in history textbooks?
According to Kress and van Leeuwen (1996), visual images of women in history textbooks are often treated as "decoration" or dismissed altogether. This discussion leads to my next subheading, which explains more about visual images of women in history textbooks.
Conclusion
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND METHODS
AN ANALYSIS OF THE VISUAL IMAGES OF WOMEN IN GRADE 12 3.1 Introduction
- The Research Design
- Critical paradigm
- Ontology and Epistemology
- Theoretical framework - Feminism
- Sampling methods
- Mixed-Mode research approach
- Research Methodology - Textual Analysis
- Research Methods
- Ethical considerations
- Conclusion
The phenomenological design in this study is used as a way to understand the phenomenon of the visual representation of women in textbooks. For this pre-analysis activity, I looked at visual images of women in 12th grade history textbooks. A mixed mode approach (combining the two) was used to clarify and validate the survey data.
Chapter Four Data Analysis
Introduction
Quantitative Analysis – Images of women and men in the selected textbooks
I wrote down the total number in each book and the page numbers for all images counted. The total number of images was then further analyzed as follows: number of men alone; number of women alone; number of men and women together; and number of images without people. The lowest number of visual images in any of the books are the images that feature only women – individually or in groups.
Qualitative analysis - images in the sampled section showing women either as individuals or in groups
The photo is placed right in the middle of the page, which catches the reader's eye. At least Helen Suzman is depicted as speaking to her quoted in the text. The ad is placed in the middle of the page and is attractively informative and does relate to the text.
Qualitative analysis - images in the sampled section showing men and women together
The photo has a caption, "A poster printed for the launch of the UDF in 1983." The meeting place or location is not mentioned. South Africa had become a democracy and would soon have the most liberal constitutions in the world” (p.190). The image was located at the top left of the page, it was small in size but clear. Picture 34 of women and men: “The photograph shows some of the ANC posters that were printed for the election.
100 New South Africa' (p. 200). The hallmark of the image is that the small children in the foreground looked happy and smiling, even though they were blocked by the large posters they were holding. Some people wondered if a single South African nation could be built.” The image was placed at the top center of the page.
Conclusion
109 Most of the black women shown in these images were not famous, they were unknown and unidentified. Black women were also portrayed as lacking enthusiasm and confidence in the images in which they were portrayed. In that image, she is portrayed as a better, active and more powerful figure compared to the images that portrayed South African women together with men.
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
Introduction
It will also discuss and compare the literature reviewed in chapter two, the differences, trends and patterns, if I agree or disagree with the literature, and what I found in chapter four and in my research. In this chapter, I will also present the reasons why women are portrayed the way they are in selected South African Grade 12 history textbooks. This will build on what I shared in chapter three regarding my theoretical framework, which is feminism. In the next subsection, I will discuss in detail the main findings of the analysis carried out in Chapter 4.
The major findings from my analysis
The focus of the research was to analyze the depiction of visual images of women in selected South African Grade 12 history textbooks. There is still an unequal percentage of female and male images in South African textbooks. In addition, most of the women in the analyzed visual images were portrayed as passive, less important and vulnerable.
Comparing my findings to the literature - second level analysis
In conclusion, I have found that women in the visual images in the analyzed texts are underrepresented and marginalized as historical actors. Even the narration of women in the visual images that appeared was mainly from male voices. This leads me to compare what the literature has revealed and what my findings have produced in terms of the positioning of images of women in history textbooks.
The reasons behind the visual portrayal of women in selected Grade 12 history textbooks
My answer is that this is due to the power that patriarchy still has in South Africa, despite the statements in the constitution. Patriarchy can be found in the government structures that make decisions about curricula and textbooks, but also in the structures of the publishing houses. Because of all this, and because history textbooks are the product of a particular society depending on how that society views women socially, economically, and politically, women are depicted as they are in the textbooks analyzed.
The consequences of my findings
Much of the lack of visual representation of women can be attributed to patriarchy, as historically most past depictions have been of men. However, the chapters in the textbooks I analyzed concerned contemporary history and cameras were available to capture images of a variety of situations. When women do not appear alone in a single image, as was the case in the textbooks analyzed, the consequence is that this tells students that now, as in the past, women have not done enough in history to be photographed and shown be in a textbook.
Suggestions and recommendations for change
Women need to involve themselves in history textbooks at all levels to ensure that they are better represented visually and in written text. Such a mindset will ensure that we don't end up in a situation like the 12th grade history textbooks where there was not a single visual image of a woman herself (as an individual or a group) in a sample chapter. Only then can South Africa more easily claim that gender equality is implemented in schools, as enshrined in South Africa's education policy documents.
Final reflections – personal, professional and methodological
My study contributed to showing that history textbooks used in schools in a South African context do not treat women equally, which is no different from other parts of the world. I raised a red flag about the neglect of women in visual images in history textbooks. I hope my study has begun in some small way to make a case for the equal portrayal of women in visual images in history textbooks.
Conclusion
I changed all my research questions, methods and methodology and in the end I have succeeded in completing my study. I hope that my research, now that we know the results, given the power of visual images, will help in some small way to change how students and teachers see women in the visual images in history textbooks and also how the DoE and the textbook publishers screen and produce textbooks. Hopefully women in the visual images in history books will be portrayed, presented and portrayed more positively.
Gender balance in K-12 US history textbooks. 2002), Immanuel Kant's Philosophical Anthropology in Philosophy, Society and Anthropology Lagos. 2010). Hindu Law and the Portrayal of Women in History Textbooks. http://www.indiatogether.org/opinions/kalpana/. Japanese History Textbooks: Restoring Sanity in the Teaching of History. http://www.indiana.edu/~japan/Digests/textbook.html. 2004). The Savage and the Slave: Critical Race Theory, Racial, Stereotyping, and the Teaching of American History.
Appendices
Appendix A Ethical Clearance
Appendix B Turnitin Certificate
