Gender and Learning from Science Texts

Elizabeth Hazel, Anthony Baker*, Patricia Gallagher and Robert Cheary*
Centre for Learning and Teaching, *Faculty of Science
University of Technology, Sydney

Abstract

Curriculum materials play a role in making a discipline relevant and attractive to students
and encouraging their involvement. In science areas, important forms of gander bias in texts
and other curriculum materials include lack of gander inclusive language, masculine images
and exclusion of the feminine in course content and images; sexist assumptions;
decontextualisation and lack of reference to the social relevance of science and to domains
of interest to women, lack of connection to the students' world; lack of reference to the
community of distinguished female scientists and of science careers for women;
representation of women in passive, subordinate or decorative roles. We report on a study
of gender and the texts used by first year students in the physical sciences at university
level, focussing on the views of learning, the images of women and their presence as
contemporary scientists or historical figures. We found that women were marginally
represented. The texts differed quite markedly in the extent to which images showed science
as a human endeavour and in the views of learning embodied. The paper concludes with
some discussion of ways of improving science texts actively to include women.            

INTRODUCTION

In this paper, we look at curriculum materials as one of the influences on female science
students at first year university level, focussing on the recommended textbooks. For
secondary school science textbooks in Australia. Ives (1984) analysed the style, content and
pictorial displays and concluded that underlying messages differed between genders:" to
boys they say 'welcome to the club, your future may lie in the world of Science'. To girls they
say 'this is a male undertaking, you will be out of place, but you can look or even help or
even help a little" (p. 17). Mullins-Gunst (1985) looked at images in Australian chemistry
texts and found that approximately 15% of identifiable figures were female, a ratio which
had not changed in a period of 15 years. Rennie and Mottier (1989) found that text
resources used in Australia were limited in the images used with less than 20% showing
humans - mostly adult males in active roles, with few young people and very few women. In
the USA, Bazler and Simonis (1991), comparing seven recent editions of texts with those
produced in the early 1970s, found only one had changed its overall proportion of
male/female images to become gender balanced. Four texts maintained their previous level
of gender balanced, and two texts actually increased the proportion of illustrations
favouring men. Kelly (1985) has argued that such gender bias in science textbooks
contributes to presenting science as a masculine domain and to excluding women.     

Our study was directed towards improving our understanding of the potential impact of
physics and chemistry texts on the first year experience for female science students at the
University of Technology,Sydney, Australia

IMAGES OF WOMEN IN TEXTBOOKS

The images used in the science texts were monitored to show how women were represented
as scientists and participants in the world of science. They were classified according to
gender, whether active or passive in role, and whether portrayed as scientists. The
distribution and impact of images were also described qualitatively.

1.1 Gender 
People were coded as female, male or gender unknown. With the unknown figures,
we have used the view (Nilsen 1987) that sexism may be not so much present in the images,
but rather in the stereotyped assumptions of the reader - therefore they were coded as
'gender unknown' unless there was evidence of their gender from the text. However, we
believe that their impact on the analysis is not neutral. They are at least images which are
not demonstrably female. 

1.2. Activity 
Images of people were coded as active or passive
according to the activity in which they were involved. A passive person was taken as someone
merely observing, or having something done to them (Potter and Rosser 1992) and this was
extended to include incidental activities such as reading. The contrast was extended to
include incidental activities such as reading. The contrast was with images which showed
people involved in activity (such as experimenting, sport). The underlying issue is whether or
not both genders are portrayed in activities which are empowering (Mullins-Gunst, 1985;
O'Barr, 1988). 

1.3. Portrayal as scientist 
Here we looked at the frequency and the manner with
which scientists were shown and the involvement of women as historical or contemporary
scientists.    

2.1 Physics 
The text (Young 1992) contains a large number of diagrams and fewer photographs
and pictures, but those included are of a very high quality, glossy and colourful. They
seem to be clustered at the beginning of chapters and this may attract the reader's attention.
In some 1378 images in this text overall, people are shown in only 12%, particularly in the
initial chapters. By the middle of the book, the number of persons declines considerably. The
idea of science as human (Andover) is not strongly embodied in the images.

The cover of the book shows a male cyclist. This theme - active, sporty, male - seems to run
through the chapters, with many of the men shown in sporting activities such as basketball,
baseball, horse-racing, motor-racing. Significantly more men appear then women (ratio of
almost 4:1), and most men are portrayed in active roles, while
women are evenly divided between active and passive roles (see Figure 1). For the reader,
there are twice as many figures of people which are gender unknown (eg those wearing
protective clothing or equipment which covered their faces and shapes - and astronaut,
aircraft directors shown from behind, motorcyclists wearing helmets) as there are female
figures. If the gender unknown figures were taken together with the male figures, women are
outnumbered at 5.6:1.

Figure 1: Physics text : people shown in active or passive roles  
+------------------------------------------- -+
|                 Activity                   |
|------------------------------------------- -|
|gender     |    Active  |   Passive | TOTAL |
|------------------------------------------- -| 
|Male       |     36%    |    20%    |  56%  |
|           |            |           |       |
|Female     |      8%    |     7%    |  15%  |
|           |            |           |       |
|Unknown    |     15%    |    14%    |  29%  |
|           |            |           |       | 
|TOTAL      |     59%    |    41%    |  100% |
+------------------------------------------- -+  

The percentage of images containing people was 12%
Number of images 1378.

There are no pictures of historical scientists female or male, and only a few contemporary
professional scientists (5% of some 300 people depicted). All the contemporary scientists
are either male (56%) or gender unknown (36%), with just one female scientist portrayed
(6%). Overall, this gives the impression that women do not work as scientists at present -
they are outnumbered by men and unknown scientists assumed to be men at 15.6:1. Yet this
hardly reflects what we know of graduation and employment statistics.

2.2 Chemistry 
In some 716 images, the chemistry text (Zumdahl 1989) has only 6% containing
people with the remainder often of chemicals, scientific equipment or phenomena. Those
people depicted are usually the subject of the image, rather than incidental. Usually this is
in the form of a historical vignette of a scientist, although some contemporary scientists are
also shown. This text has quite a high percentage of professional scientists (35%). However
none of the historical figures are women, and only two of the seven contemporary scientists
are female.

The images analysis (Figure 2) shows that the ratio of men to women in images is an
overwhelming 18:1, higher if gender unknown figures were assumed to be male. While both
sexes are portrayed in predominantly active roles, the sheer lack of numbers of women
depicted (4 active, 1 passive) diminishes any benefit.

Figure 2: Chemistry text : people shown in active or passive roles   

+---------------------------------------------- +   
|                   Activity                   |
|---------------------------------------------- |  
| Gender     |    Active  |   Passive  | Total |  
|------------|------------|------------|------- |
| Male       |      72%   |     11%    |   83% |
| Female     |      4%    |      1%    |    5% |
| Unknown    |     11%    |      1%    |   12% |
| TOTAL      |     87%    |     13%    |  100% |
+---------------------------------------------- +
The percentage of images containing people was 6%
Number of images 716

The 'activity' of women is restricted to tasks performed in a laboratory,while men are shown
in a variety of occupations. Men are also portrayed in a wide range of sports,e.g. scuba
diving, ice skating, cycling. No women are shown doing sport.

SEXISM AND THE LANGUAGE OF THE TEXXTBOOKS

Use of sexist language is one way in which the language of textbooks can have a differential
effect on readers according to gender. The language of science has been that of the dominant
culture, masculine. 'He' may be used as generic or the generic 'man' as a noun, verb, or an
occupational suffix, and masculine idioms may be used. There has, however, been increased
sensitivity to this issue over the last decade and many academic publishers provide
guidelineS to authors as well as direct editorial intervention. We found relatively few
examples of non-inclusive language in the texts studies. However, other forms of sexism were
evident. They were of two main types: where there is an assumption that 'female' implies
deviation from the norm and where there is derogatory treatment of women. The latter
includes instances of trivialisation or denigration, and patronising or stereotyping women.
An example would be where a set problem in the physics text states: "Lovely Mary Belle
swings from a trapeze...," while the next problem, involving motorcycles, begins 'A physics
professor did daredevil stunts in his spare time'. Mary Belle's physical attributes are
noted, though irrelevant, while her courage is not noted. The male professor is not described
in a comparable way - he appears as courageous, or at least foolhardy, and his decorative
qualities are not assessed.

In attempting to reduce the direct use of masculinist language, many authors resort to using
the passive voice and plurals 'you/we/they'. However,the passive voice incidentally has the
effect of depersonalising the language of science. After Strube (1989) and Duit et al (1992),
we found that the texts were characterised to a great extent by a distant authorised voice, a
concern for precision before a concern for student learning. Overall,this suggests formality
and lack of warmth with the author becoming remote and anonymous, and the reader
possibly alienated. However, the texts had balanced this to some extent with
vignettes, problems and case studies which spoke more directly to the student.

VIEW OF KNOWLEDGE AND VIEW OF LEARNER IN COLLEGE TEXTBOOKS

In the chemistry text recommended for use by first year science students at UTS (Zumdahl
1989), much of the explanatory material is presented in context, although context was more
evident in the body of chapters than in the exercises/problems. There were a few contexts
to which women are often thought to relate, for example food and medicine (Duit et al.
1992). Chemistry is related to topics and contemporary issues of relevance to the student,
such as measuring toxicity; chemical communication; mind altering chemicals. This is done in
a 'Chemical Impact' feature which appears in almost every chapter. These are often both
interesting and successful in presenting some aspects of chemical knowledge as tentative.

In the chapter on 'Types of Chemical Reactions and Solution Stoichiometry', the 'Chemical
Impact' section headed 'Aging: Does It Involve Oxidation?' presents the phenomenon of
human aging as an area where scientists disagree about the causes and presents possible
mechanisms involved, with associated recent references. The other 'Chemical Impact' in this
chapter is on Svante Arrhenius: "Arrhenius, A Man with Solutions". The life of one of the
most significant figures in shaping current thinking about the nature of solutions is
presented. Of particular interest, is that Arrhenius' ideas were not well accepted when first
proposed (he was only a graduate student at that time) and he had to have them accepted.
This presents the 'political dimension' of chemistry and perhaps highlights chemistry as a
human activity with all the 'players' bringing human weaknesses to bear.

Such discussions could provide 'stimulus material' for a problem-solving approach, although
this connection is not made explicit by the author. The author says he takes a
problem-solving approach: 'With a strong problem-solving orientation, this text talks to the
student about how to approach and solve chemical problems' (author's emphasis). Yet the
set problems seldom provide context. The student is thus isolated from how the problem
arose and from the process of problem identification. Are these really problems or are they
only puzzles? How appealing are they to young women (an issue which one of us has explored
elsewhere, Hazel,1994)?

One of the strengths of this text is that it describes much of the accepted body of chemical
knowledge as only a collection of successful models: 'Models are a central theme in this
book (p.xi, To the student)' and there is further discussion about modelling in chemistry on
page 344 where the author discusses revision of models as a means of advancement of
knowledge. It is explained that there are many cases where revision of models has not been
sufficient, for example, treating coordinate bonds simply as covalent bonds is not successful
in predicting magnetic and spectral properties of transition metal complexes.

Early in the book is an exposition of the 'scientific method' (Section 1.1) where the steps
identified are: making observations, looking for patterns in the observations, formulating
theories, designing experiments to test the theories. Although it is valuable for students to
have accounts of how science develops, especially that it is not just a body of immutable
facts, the account given is rather 'packaged', i.e. constructed after the event and in the
abstract. This could be of concern when viewed in the light of research (see Head 1985)
which suggests that black and white accounts of science may be more appealing to young
men than young women. On the other hand, the author also mentions some the human
qualities and characteristics of chemists, describes 'science is treated as a human
activity, subject to all the normal human foibles,' acknowledge chemists as professionals and
attempts 'to show how to think like a chemist'(p.xi).

In the physics text (Young 1992), much of the material in the text is presented in
context - explanations as well as exercises/problems. The situations overwhelmingly reflect
masculine interests, such as computer components, construction, heavy machinery,
weapons, sports such as weightlifting and ice-hockey. Traditional feminine interests center
on the home and family and this text includes a sonogram of a foetus, medical equipment,
cooker, kitchen, hairdryer, food, bathroom scales and house interior. While women would
probably identify with these situations, they are not particularly positive contexts as they
tend to reinforce stereotypical female pursuits, and suggest that science is only relevant to
women in a domestic context. In fact, women are interested in a much wider range of
scientific interests although they differ from those of men. These include topics like natural
phenomena, colours, heat, sound (Kelly 1988). According to Duit et al (1992),  women also
prefer physics when it is linked to contemporary issues, such as pollution or medical
advances.

The author expresses an interest in engaging the student in the process of learning: '...I try to
talk to the student as a partner in learning, not as an audience to be lectured to from atop a
platform (p.vi).' However we found the author's view of knowledge is not explicitly
expressed. Perhaps the attempt to specifically address the issue of 'developing physical
intuition' could be taken as a hint that the author has something of a constructivist view of
knowledge.

The chapter on Gravitation (Ch. 12) is written to some extent from a historical perspective
with major figures such as Newton who is presented as the principal figure; and the
impression that nothing significant has happened since is strongly felt. Little information is
presented about him or the other historical figures in the chapter, there are no significant
biographies and this tended to convey a view of 'science as fact', divorced from the human
context.

However, an interesting aspect of this chapter is the Case Study on Black Holes which
explains the history of the concept, presents science as a dynamic medium and includes
names which should be recognisable by current students, such as Stephen Hawking. In
contrast to the rest of the chapter, this section presents 'science as inquiry' and, by
mentioning physicists who may be familiar to the students, humanises science. The case
study develops the feeling of the controversy and doubt that surrounds a developing field of
science. 'Several promising candidates have been found, and many astronomers now express
considerable confidence in the existence of black holes.'  As it stands, it is likely that the
case study would be used as enrichment material for advanced students. A bold experiment
would be to rewrite the chapter on Gravitation beginning with the case study and using it in
a problem-based learning approach and later moving across traditional areas.

IMPLICATIONS: CHOOSING TEXTBOOKS

The study of sexism in all forms of media is now quite sophisticated and has moved past
simply demonstrating bias. Although content analysis continues to be an important part of
measuring the phenomena, and necessary to record improvements, emphasis should now be
on the more subtle, but nevertheless influential forms of gender exclusion. Contributions
made to a subject by women should not be overlooked. Given the relatively recent
development (or recognition) of substantial contributions by women in some fields of
learning, the work of contemporary women should be cited wherever appropriate.

It is not helpful to merely avoid overt sexism via expedient routes such as discarding images
altogether or employing the passive voice. These strategies tend to reduce the human
emphasis and alienate readers of both genders. Nor is it desirable to constrain subject
matter to gender neutral contexts and images. Instead, texts should be sought which avoid
sexist language whilst retaining a human quality, for example by emphasising personal
address, writing with feeling, and discussing concepts within the everyday experience of a
diverse range of students. This would appeal not only to women, but probably also to a
broader range of male students. However, feminine interests should not include only the
domestic context, as doing so would reinforce the stereotype of this as the only appropriate
sphere for women.

The active/passive dimension does not take into account indirect forms of stereotyping.
Women can be portrayed in active situations, but be limited to stereotyping roles, such as
nurturing, or work in a traditionally feminine occupation. Men can likewise be depicted in a
passive stance, but nevertheless in positions of power, control and responsibility. The
underlying issue is whether or not both genders are portrayed in activities which are
empowering. Thus, it is also pertinent to ask questions such as: are women only background
figures in a male-centered situation? Are they shown in roles other than teacher, mother,
nurse, secretary? Are their actions shown as less sophisticated and interesting than men's?
Do they show initiative, imagination, energy, courage or are they shown as docile and in
need of help to solve problems? Are they shown as merely decorative? Regarding the latter,
there is danger that choice amongst "active" portrayals of women might result in situations
where they are shown in "attractive" attire (for example ice-skaters rather than cricketers).

Where a text introduce a real-life situation, people should be included. In some preliminary
research of ours, there seem to be sex differences when the some first year students were
surveyed about the context of their textbooks. The female students tended to prefer seeing
more people involvement, so that the relevance of the topic was clear. More of the male
students tended to think that the facts were sufficient, and felt people would be
superfluous. Yet a major advantage of including more people, apart from introducing the
human aspect, is that it affords the opportunity to portray both genders in an occupational
setting which is relevant to the topic.

Overall, we believe that studying textbooks is likely to influence students' experiences of
physical sciences at university level and that the messages for female students are such as
expressed by Ives in 1984 "to boys they say `welcome to the club, your future may lie in the
world of science'. To girls they say `this is a male undertaking, you will be out of place, but
you can look or even help a little(p.17).' A decade has passed. Texts may be brighter and
more interesting in general but much remains to be done with these and other curriculum
materials if the students' experience of science is to be genuinely positive one for women.
When curriculum materials are not playing their fullest role, it places a greater burden on the
teaching, the assessment, and, some would say, the practice of the professions. If the
physical sciences are to be successful in recruiting high quality female students and retaining
them in a fulfilling sphere,the presentation and practices of the physical sciences community
need to change in gender inclusive ways.

NOTES

The authors acknowledge with gratitude discussions with Professor Ference Marton of the
Department of Education and Educational Research, Gothenburg, Sweden. The research
was funded as an equity project by the University of Technology, Sydney. An earlier version
of this paper was presented at the Annual Conference of the Higher Education Research
and Development Society of Australasia,Canberra, July 1994.

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