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Experiences of Puerto Rican teachers in the integration of gender equity into the curriculum: A study through in-depth phenomenological interviews
Abstract
The educational system in Puerto Rico has been characterized by the lack of gender equity. The projects conducted in this centralized system have proposed alternatives to overcome sexism but have not considered teachers' perspectives on the problem. Recent legislation on educational reform recognized the need to involve teachers in curriculum change. The Puerto Rican Commission for Women's Affairs developed the Project on Gender Educational Equity aimed towards integrating gender equity into the curriculum through teachers' involvement in curriculum change. This study was undertaken to explore and document the experiences of the eleven female teachers who participated in the Project. Using a phenomenological approach three interviews were conducted with each participant. The background, the actual experience and the meaning of the experience for them were explored. These elementary school teachers have had experiences in which the child-rearing and schooling processes, career selection, courtship and marital relationships have contributed to the acquisition of the female roles and the construction of a view of the self as gendered persons. They struggled with the attributed roles of woman, mother, and teacher. They confronted several conflicts: rejection of feminism, need to be subtle, lack of time and resources, power of the prescribed curriculum, and subversion of the established schemes. They made a conscious effort to scrutinize the explicit and the implicit curriculum. They also developed strategies to overcome sexism. They felt a need to include men in the whole picture of equity and struggled with the concept of special efforts towards one gender. The definition of equity as equality helped to reconcile their understanding of gender oppression and the need to incorporate men in the same picture. They established a connection between the personal and the professional and felt that they are doing their work more consciously. An understanding that they need to work for equity and that they have been doing reform in their classrooms was part of their meanings. They felt that it is the responsibility of the Department of Education to work for an equitable curriculum. This study has a focus on critical issues that have implications for initiatives that involve teachers in curriculum change, research and action on gender equity, and teacher education.
Subject Area
Curriculum development|Educational sociology|Multicultural Education
Recommended Citation
Martinez, Loida Margarita, "Experiences of Puerto Rican teachers in the integration of gender equity into the curriculum: A study through in-depth phenomenological interviews" (1993). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9316693.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9316693