Gender Representation and Intercultural Competence in Iranian EFL Coursebooks from the ۱۹۶۰s to ۲۰۲۰s

This study aims to investigate the representation of gender and intercultural competence in the images and texts of ۱۵ Iranian secondary school English coursebooks, published over six decades. Gender representation was investigated using the framework proposed by Dahmardeh and Kim (۲۰۲۰), and the scale developed by Solhaug and Kristensen (۲۰۲۰) was used as the criteria for investigating intercultural competence. The data were coded and counted using manifest content analysis. The results showed that Iranian English coursebooks mentioned males and females unequally in their texts across different decades, with one gender being represented more in each decade. Regarding gender representation in the images, males were represented more than females in almost all decades. The representation of males and females in the books published in the ۱۹۷۰s was almost equal, followed by extreme and sudden changes in gender representation in the ۱۹۸۰s. However, the books published in and after the ۲۰۰۰s presented a balanced picture of males and females. The coursebooks dealt with intercultural competence in their texts and images very rarely, limiting this concept to religious issues and neglecting other aspects. In fact, the coursebooks addressed only one category out of the ۱۱ categories. Finally, the study ends with implications for coursebook authors, materials designers, teachers, students, and teacher trainers.

کلیدواژه ها:

Coursebooks ، English language ، Gender Representation ، intercultural competence