A Study on the Gender Representation of English Entrance Examinations for High School

• In Event: Difference and the Politics of Representation

Proposal

A Study on the Gender Representation of English Entrance Examinations for High School

The World Economic Forum (WEF) released "The Global Gender Gap Report 2023" in June 2023, which presents the Gender Gap Index measuring gender inequality between men and women in various countries and regions. The Gender Gap Index is to benchmark progress toward gender parity and compare countries' gender gaps across four dimensions: economic participation opportunities, education attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. Table 1 shows the Gender Gap Index 2023 rankings of the top and major countries.

Table 1: The Global Gender Index 2023 Rankings of the Top and Major Countries
Rank Country Score Score change Rank change
0-1 2022 2022
1 Iceland 0.912 +0.004 -
2 Norway 0.879 +0.034 +1
3 Finland 0.863 +0.003 -1
4 New Zealand 0.856 +0.014 -
5 Sweden 0.815 -0.007 -
6 Germany 0.815 +0.014 +4
15 United Kingdom 0.792 +0.012 +7
26 Australia 0.778 +0.040 +17
30 Canada 0.770 -0.002 -5
40 France 0.756 -0.035 -25
43 United States of America 0.748 -0.021 -16
105 Korea, Republic of 0.680 -0.010 -6
107 China 0.678 -0.004 -5
125 Japan 0.647 -0.002 -9
Data Resource: The Global Gender Index 2023 Rankings

The index ranges from 0 (complete inequality) to 1 (complete inequality). According to the 2023 Global Gender Gap Index no country has achieved full gender parity. In 2023, Japan's overall score was 0.647, ranking 125th out of 146 countries and regions which is the lowest ranking since the inception of Global Gender Gap Index in 2006. Compared to the previous year, the ranking of Japan dropped, and Japan's score and ranking were at the lowest level among advanced countries. The ranking showed there is a gender gap in Japan. This study takes a perspective of the hidden curriculum and conducts a comprehensive and in-depth investigation of gender representation in the reading comprehension section of the high school English entrance examination in Japan by analyzing the text and illustrations. This study aims to investigate whether there is gender inequality and gender stereotypes in the reading comprehension section of English examination papers. The test questions have always been used as "authoritative" review materials for later junior high school students who will attend the academic test, so short time exams can also be considered hidden curriculum. Because the test questions not only affect a generation of students but also have an impact on students who will take the test later. The knowledge, values, and norms conveyed in the exam content are unconscious, subtle, and have a long-lasting impact, and thus cannot be overlooked.
This study examines and analyzes the balance of gender representation in the English reading comprehension section from both textual and illustrative aspects. Specifically, this includes the male-to-female ratios and frequency appearing in both texts and illustrations, the portrayal of gender roles in both texts and illustrations and gender stereotypes presented in both texts and illustrations. The key statistical keywords related to gender representation in the texts are shown in table 2. It should be noted that the same pronoun or noun used to refer to the same character is counted only once and only the illustration containing a person is counted.
Table 2: The key statistical keywords
Gender representation statistics he, she, boy, girl, male, female, Mr., Mrs., Miss., Ms., dad, mum, father, mother, son, daughter, him, her, his, man, women, men, women, sir, madam, himself, herself, grandfather, grandmother, uncle, aunt, brother, sister, husband, wife, king, queen, gentlemen, lady, boyfriend, girlfriend, nanny


In Japan, high schools established by prefectures or municipalities are called public high schools, while those established by private individuals are called private high schools. The entrance examinations for public and private high schools are significantly different. The entrance examination system for public high schools is determined by each prefecture. In the entrance examinations for private schools, the subjects tested in the academic proficiency exam also differ from school to school. Some schools allow students to take an exam in two or three subjects, so students can narrow down their search for a high school based on their strengths. This study selected the English reading comprehension part of the academic proficiency examination for junior high school students who want to apply for both public and private high school in Tochigi Japan.
The research shows that in terms of the gender representation, public schools do better than the private schools. There is no significant difference in public schools, while male figures appear 1.8 times more frequently than female figures in private schools. When it comes to gender descriptions and gender stereotypes, they have conveyed the message that men’s work centers around outside, women’s work centers around the home and prominent figures have a high exposure rate for men, and there is very little mention of the contributions made by women. From the perspective of the hidden curriculum, these reading texts implicitly convey the concept of gender inequality to students, weakening or erasing women's achievements, so that students naturally receive the concept of male superiority. The results indicate the gender inequality and disproportionate representation hidden in the academic test for junior high school students. It is significant to stress gender equality representation in short-time exam curriculum design.

Author

• Wenjun Shi, Utsunomiya University