A Case Study of Grade 10 Students' Understanding of Textbook Narratives Related to Feminism

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 44
  In Roundtable Session: Reconsidering the Teaching of Historical Narratives

Abstract

We surveyed 575 Quebec high school students on their conceptions of textbooks and feminism. Nine participated in interviews to assess their mediation of contradictory narratives as well as the understanding of women agency in history. The results show that the interaction with textbooks is a complex phenomenon that should be examined in relation to students’ prior representations of the past. A very high proportion of students (88 %) considered the textbook reflects objective truth. They seemed uncomfortable when completing the task. Students tried to lessen the differences between narratives while selecting the elements corresponding to their initial conceptions of feminism. Even so, most students were able, in a variable way, to differentiate the texts in regards of their agency.

Authors

• Marie-Hélène Brunet, Ottawa University

• Marc-Andre Ethier, Université de Montréal