Norms in textbooks : A discursive study of the representation of gender norms in Spanish textbooks

The aim of this study is to examine the existence of norms in three Spanish textbooks intended for upper secondary school in Sweden. One category of norms, gender norms, is selected for analysis. The focus of the analysis is on how gender norms are represented in the textbooks. The concept of gender also includes - in addition to the relation between man och woman - ethnicity, sexuality and disability. The three analysed textbooks are Caminando 3, Vistas 3 and El Sur paso 3. For this purpose, Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is the method used to examine the discourse of gender in textbooks on a textual, a scholastic and a societal level. The results show that the gender equality is high in the textbooks, both on an individual level as well as on a societal level. Most of the Spanish-speaking nationalities are represented in the textbooks, but the image given of Spanish and Latin American people is a templated, stereotypical one – especially the image of the native American. Not much space is spared for the disabled or people with divergent sexuality in the textbooks, where the normally functioning, heterosexual person is a norm. If wanting to meet the demands in the curriculum and to be representative for the diversity in society, the authors of textbooks need to reconsider their strategy and include a great variety of people in their textbooks.