The Role of Men and Women in Elementary-School Farsi Textbooks

he content of textbooks can be highly influential in shaping children’s views, attitudes, and values. This study examined the portrayal of women and men in the Farsi textbooks used in grades one to four. The results of a content analysis revealed that respectively: a) 262 and 129 positive values were attributed to men and women, b) 1266 and 504 sentences included concepts about men and women. In addition, these concepts conveyed a more positive attitude towards men than towards women. It can be concluded that elementary-school Farsi textbooks promote dissimilar attitudes towards men and women in children, which is more in favour of men as compared to women.