多元文化视域下马来西亚华文小学《华文》教材中的性别角色与职业形象分析

Gender Roles and Occupational Representations in Malaysian Chinese Primary School Chinese Language Textbooks: A Multicultural Perspective

Multicultural education is a cultural product of a diverse society. Through the power of education, it affirms the value of multiculturalism, embraces its diversity, and respects the rights and interests of all cultural groups. Gender is a key theme in multicultural education, and students’ awareness of gender roles and future career choices is often shaped and nurtured during primary education. As the foundation for cultivating future citizens of the nation, primary education plays a vital role in fostering students’ understanding and respect for gender identity. This study focuses on the Chinese Language textbooks used in Malaysian Chinese primary schools (SJKC) for Year 4 to 6. Using document analysis and content analysis methods, the study categorizes and quantifies the representation of gender and occupational images presented in the textbooks. From a multicultural perspective, the study compares the statistical findings to examine whether the content reflects an awareness of gender equality in occupational representation. The results reveal three main issues in the textbooks: firstly, a severe gender imbalance, with male characters significantly outnumbering and dominating female ones; secondly, unequal occupational distribution, where female characters are often confined to domestic and caregiving roles, with limited representation in authoritative or professional fields; and reinforcement of gender stereotypes, which may negatively influence students’ gender identity development and future career aspirations. This study offers reflections and suggestions on the compilation and use of Chinese Language textbooks from the perspective of multicultural education. It aims to serve as a reference for future textbook development in Malaysian Chinese primary schools, ultimately contributing to the realization of a fair, inclusive, and equitable educational environment.

多元文化教育是多元社会下的文化产物，藉由教育的力量来肯定多元文化的价值、包容多元文化的多样性、尊重多元文化的人权和权益。性别是多元文化教育的一个重要主题，学生对性别与未来职业选择的意识多数从小学教育中被引导和培养。小学教育是培养国家未来主人翁的基础教育，因此，华小《华文》教材性别与职业形象的内容呈现将有助于学生对性别形象有正面思考与尊重。本研究以马来西亚华文小学四至六年级《华文》教材为研究对象，透过文献研究法和内容分析法对教材中不同性别出现的职业形象进行归类与统计。本研究将以多元文化角度对统计结果进行对比，分析教材中性别与职业形象平等意识的内容呈现。研究发现，教材内容存在以下三方面问题：一是男女性别比例严重失衡，男性角色在数量与主导性方面明显占据优势；二是职业形象分布不均，女性角色多偏向家庭领域与照顾角色，较少涉及高权力或专业性职业；三是教材强化性别刻板印象，影响学生性别认知的发展与未来职业的选择。本研究从多元文化教育角度出发，提出对《华文》教材编写和教材使用的思考与建议，以作为将来马来西亚华小《华文》教材的编写参考，进而落实公平、包容的教育目标。