The non-place of diversity in family representations in english textbooks

Abstract

The perspective changes on the concept of education and how it should be developed, especially in recent decades, demand a closer approach from the school to the students’ social contexts. In this sense, the different family compositions that constitute society must be represented in school environments in a natural way, not only to promote the recognition of learners who integrate family configurations different from the socially imposed one but also to exercise respect for individual experiences. In this paper, we analyze the unit on family in three English language textbooks in order to understand which family arrangements are represented in them, challenge the absence of Black individuals and question the focus on privileged social classes as the hegemonic standard. For the bibliographical research with a qualitative approach that underlies this analysis, we used studies by Anjos (2019; 2020), Candau (2011), Freire (2004), hooks (2013), Leffa (2021), Lima (2009), Siqueira (2012; 2015), Pennycook (1994; 2001), et al. We detected that the family representations presented by textbooks favor only some family models, reinforcing prejudices and stereotypes. Thus, we highlight the importance and urgency that the social and family configurations represented in English language textbooks should encourage respect for diversity so that students recognize themselves and welcome different family formats as constituents of society.