Masculinities: A Case Study on Gendered Texts Used in the English Classroom

Abstract: This paper discusses the issue of how different masculinities are being represented in the English classroom. It specifically aims to examine how a teacher’s own principals concerning gender will be reflected in the texts she chooses to use. The field was explored through a case study, where interviews with an upper secondary English teacher as well as a content analysis on the texts she chose to use in the classroom were central to the study. The results of the case study showed tendencies towards a discrepancy between the teacher’s self-expressed thoughts on gender issues and her choice of texts. The teacher conveyed modern ideas on gender issues, while most of the texts she chose to use in the classroom were positive towards more traditional gender patterns. Therefore, our hypothesis did not correspond to the findings. The findings were analyzed by comparing the teacher’s reported attitudes to the different aspects of gender in the chosen texts. In relation to these findings, the paper focuses on the possibility of further studies within this field of research, such as e.g. observation of how gendered texts are being used in classroom and a more quantified investigation, concerning the number of teachers being studied.