A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF GENDER REPRESENTATION IN SINGLE NATIONAL CURRICULUM 2020 (SNC) ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS WITH THE CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY ENGLISH (LEARNER'S EDITION) TEXTBOOKS AT THE LOWER SECONDARY LEVEL: A CRITICAL FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the gender representation in Pakistan’s Single National Curriculum (SNC) Middle School English textbooks and the Cambridge Lower Secondary English Learner’s Edition textbooks. Both textual and visual portrayals of male and female characters across selected units from SNC Grade 7 and 8 and Cambridge Grades 7 and 8 have been analyzed in this study, with the aid of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA). The focus of the analysis is on how gender roles are represented, how the stereotypes and ideologies are embedded within these representations, and what the possible consequences for learners’ understanding of gender in educational contexts can be. 

Such male-centered narratives where men are consistently framed as national heroes, leaders, and moral exemplars are revealed to be distinctly present in the results of this study, while women are more often relegated to supportive, domestic, or marginal positions. Comparatively, Cambridge textbooks have been seen to make greater efforts toward inclusivity, but still female roles are frequently mediated through male perspectives, aiding in limiting their narrative agency. Across both curricula, visual framing reinforces these patterns. As men have been observed to occupy active, central positions in images, while women have been observed to often shown in passive or relational roles. 

The study reasons that such portrayals are bound to reflect broader cultural and ideological frameworks that shape learners’ perceptions of gender roles. The analysis highlights how subtle hierarchies position men as authoritative knowers and women as supportive others. These conclusions are also drawn based on Van Dijk’s concept of “us vs. t hem”. To guarantee fair representation, it is concluded that both curricula need to be revised. The recommendations advocate for curriculum reviews guided by CDA, MDA, gender-sensitive textbook development requirements, teacher training planned to foster critical engagement with gender stereotypes and the inclusion of more inspirational female personalities. Textbooks can demonstrate inclusive viewpoints that enable all learners rather than just reiterating social norms if they work on filling in these gaps.