LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Gender Issues in Teacher Training Materials of ELTIS
(English Language Training for Islamic Schools)
A Study from Indonesia

Zuliati Rohmah, Ph.D.

Abstract

The paper presents the results of evaluation done by evaluators of the training materials used for English Language Training for Islamic Schools in three provinces in Indonesia: East Java, West Nusa Tenggara and South Sulawesi. The evaluation focusing on gender issues was conducted using five criteria. The results show that the materials have fulfilled the gender criteria. The materials used for higher training level show better scores compared to the materials for the lower level. This might explain that the materials writers have learned from the previous evaluation given by the ELTIS gender adviser.

Key words: gender issues, ELTIS, teacher training, materials.

Gender Issues in Learning Materials

This study focuses on gender issues in training materials. A number of studies have been conducted on gender issues in classroom interactions (see, for example, Kramarae & Treichler, 1990; Miller, 1992; de Klerk & Hunt, 2000). In the teaching learning process in the classroom, teaching materials play a vital role. It often determines types of interactions there. However, no research has been done focusing on gender components in training materials.

Kramarae and Treichler (1990) studied what women and men said about their experience in university classrooms. The course they studied was an interdisciplinary postgraduate seminar. One among the many findings of their research showed that, to women's perception, discussion that moved more around intellectual confrontation rather than collaboration was typical of male talk. Besides, women enjoyed "open discussion" (p. 53) and are motivated to "support friends" (p. 54). Weinrich-Haste (in Thomas, 1990) also notes some differences between female-male undergraduate students; women are more democratic, oriented to other people and caring than men. Women emphasize more on community and interpersonal standards, less on institutions and hierarchical association.

In addition, Miller (1992) also found similar tendency in her study on conflict scripts of men and women. Although, she did not find differences in the components of the written scripts by male and female students, she noted that the tendency for outcomes in the women script to be influenced more by promise-breaker's behavior and in the men's scripts more by offended person's behavior. This suggests somewhat greater noted features of mutual altruism and responsibility among women and somewhat greater salience of selfishness among the men.

More specifically, de Klerk and Hunt (2000) studied the effect of the gender of participants on the discourse patterns of university seminars by focusing the research on turn-taking and interruption, in which power differential was examined. This study was done after seeing the fact that the students' attitude and achievement in university were influenced in a great extent by the quality of education they accepted in previous schooling, in which girls are treated differently from boys. Teachers were more likely to provide immediate answer to girls when they could not solve certain problems; instead of encouraging them to try to find the answer themselves (see Sadker and Sadker, 1990; Horgan, 1995).

Feminists often see this practice as disempowering women in the long run. In spite of this, de Klerk and Hunt (2000) found out that female participants dominate the turn and time in the seminar. Toward this phenomenon, they said they could not conclude that the differences come simply from gender. They would rather suggest that this fact occurred because the female students were more confident, as the influence of their perception of group membership in which the number of women was bigger than men and they had known each other, that enabled them to dominate the discussion. Thus, meanings in classroom context are achieved through negotiation with peer as well as the instructor.

Whilst most of the studies in classroom context show that female students prefer to have collaborative styles, no studies have been done on materials. Instructional materials often become the center of instructional processes. Materials may include textbooks or coursebooks, video and audio tapes, computer software, and visual aids. Coursebooks often determine the objectives of language learning and also often function as a lesson plan and working agenda for teachers and learners, although the ideal should be the vice versa.

Cunningsworth (1995) argues that textbooks are an effective resource for autonomous learning, an effective resource for presentation material, a source of ideas and activities, a reference source for students, a syllabus where they reflect pre-determined learning objectives, and support for less experienced teachers who have yet to gain confidence. Coursebooks often influence the selection of the components and methods of learning. They also control the class and the learning processes.

Kitao & Kitao (1997) state that the choice of deductive vs. inductive learning, the role of memorization, the use of creativity and problem solving, production vs. reception, and the order in which materials are presented are all influenced by the materials. Hence, teaching materials play a vital role in any instructional activities (see e.g., Dow, 2004; Jahangard, 2007; Rahimi, 2008; Richards, 2007; Rohmah, 2009; Spratt et al. , 2005).

This study focuses on training materials used by English Language Training for Islamic Schools (ELTIS). This project trains Islamic secondary school English teachers in three provinces in Indonesia: East Java, West Nusa Tenggara and South Sulawesi. As part of activities funded by the Australian government, ELTIS tries to provide materials that are free from gender bias. The present study is aimed at looking at whether the materials have fulfilled the criteria.

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