Can Gender-Stereotyped Depictions of Occupations in Primary School Textbooks Help Shape Students' Career Choice in the Dominican Republic?

Type Thesis or Dissertation - Master’s Thesis
Title Can Gender-Stereotyped Depictions of Occupations in Primary School Textbooks Help Shape Students' Career Choice in the Dominican Republic?
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2015
URL http://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1530&context=cc_etds_theses
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to examine whether the gender-stereotyped depiction of occupations in Dominican primary school textbooks can bias students' career choice and perpetuate gender inequalities in the Dominican Republic. Data shows that, despite a slight gender disparity in favor of girls during secondary education and the feminization of tertiary education in the Dominican Republic, collegial population is extremely segregated by gender and women are rarely found studying careers that are traditionally related to the opposite sex. This educational segregation has an adverse outcome for women since career choice is closely related to economic and social participation. Jobs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are found to grant higher salaries and hold higher social recognition. Female participation in the aforementioned disciplines is limited in the Dominican Republic, whereas women overpopulate traditional female careers such as teaching, nursing, or psychology. This research will argue that, despite regulations towards the elimination of sexism in school textbooks, there is still a high incidence of gender-stereotyped occupations and sexism in Dominican primary school textbooks. On studying collegial trends amongst female and male students this research will examine if the depiction of genderstereotyped occupations in primary school textbooks is linked to career choice. Finally, a study conducted among primary school children will show the effects of gender stereotypes in career choice and how the portrayal of traditional gender-typed occupations limits children's educational and professional identity, largely restricting Dominican students' potential to arbitrary gender roles.

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