Gender Bias in Teacher Education Texts

This content analysis investigated the treatment of gender in 23 teacher education textbooks published between 1998 and 2001. Given the decades of research documenting the impact of gender bias in schools, the authors anticipated stronger, fairer texts than those analyzed 20 years ago. Clearly, there has been progress, but it is minimal. Introductory/foundation texts provide slightly more than 7% of content to gender issues; methods texts average little more than 1%. Although a commitment to gender fairness is verbalized in several of these texts, specific resources and strategies to achieve that goal are often absent. Inadequate, stereotypic, and even inaccurate treatment of gender is commonplace. Tomorrow’s teachers may learn the importance of verbalizing support for equity without the expectation that they can actually help make it a reality.