Gender sensibility of Croatian school textbooks

Ovim istraživanjem nastojalo se ispitati na koji su način prikazani muški i ženski likovi u osnovnoškolskim čitankama hrvatskog jezika. Jesu li muški i ženski likovi prikazani rodno stereotipno ili egalitarno? Analizirani su prikazi likova u osnovnim tekstovima i metodičkim prilozima čitanki. U obzir su uzete njihove obiteljske uloge, profesionalne uloge, pozitivne i negativne psihosocijalne osobine, fizičke osobine, vrijednosti i interesi, rezidencijalni i bračni status te sukobi između likova. U radu je korištena osnovna analiza sadržaja. Analiza je obuhvatila četiri čitanke za više razrede osnovne škole (od 5. do 8. razreda). Istraživanje je pokazalo da autorstvo čitanki potpisuje žena, no autori većine tekstova su muškarci. U osnovnom tekstu i metodičkim prilozima dominiraju muški likovi. Profesionalne uloge nisu strogo dihotomizirane na muške i ženske, no ipak prate stereotipnu podjelu na muška i ženska zanimanja gdje su ženski likovi u većini slučajeva povezivani sa zanimanjima vezanima uz obrazovanje i njegu. Kod psihosocijalnih osobina ne ističu se značajne razlike između muških i ženskih likova premda se u nekim prikazima javljaju stereotipni prikazi žena, poput pobožne i požrtvovne. Što se tiče vrijednosti i interesa prevladavaju tradicionalni obrasci koji upućuju na to da je i muškim i ženskim likovima važna vjera. Uzevši sve u obzir možemo uvidjeti da su neki prikazi muških i ženskih likova stereotipni dok su drugi egalitarniji.The aim of this study was to examine how male and female characters are represented in Croatian primary school textbooks. Are male and female characters represented gender stereotypically or are representations egalitarian? Gender representations of characters were analyzed in main texts and accompanying material. Their family and professional roles, positive and negative psycho-social characteristics, physical characteristics, values and interests, as well as residency status, marital status and conflicts among characters were taken into consideration. In this thesis, basic content analysis was used. The analysis involved four textbooks used by primary school senior class students (class 5 to class 8 ). The research showed that although the authorship of the textbooks is signed by a woman, the authors of most texts are men. Moreover, the dominant characters in the basic text and accompanying material are male. Professional roles are not strictly separated into male and female, but they still follow a stereotypical division of male and female professions, with female characters mostly associated with educational and nursing professions. With regard to psycho-social characteristics, there is no significant differences between male and female characters, although women are at times represented stereotypically, such as sacrificial and pious. As far as values and interests are concerned, traditional patterns prevail, and for both men and women, religion is presented as an important part of their lives. Taking everything into account, we can conclude that some representations of female and male characters are stereotypical, while others are more egalitarian