Capitulo 1. La Redistribución del Ingreso ante las Disparidades Regionales
1.4. Influencia de organismos internacionales en el establecimiento de políticas económicas
Introduction
P
hilosophers, psychologists and sociologists argue that the act of speaking or any form of expression that guarantees communication is fundamental to a human being’s social and personal development.Those who defend this approach to the role of educa- tion in creating spaces for speaking are also the defenders of democratic schools. The question is, how can school educate their pupils democratically, and offer them an edu- cation in democracy? This paper proposes an approach based on Gender Theory.Gender education is a necessary prerequisite to the democratization process, bearing in mind the role that schools play in the socialization process and in the construction of identity. Gender education is a cornerstone for the promotion and integration of human rights values in schools. Gender education, or engendering education, is an essential component of an education based on equality and citizenship. In fact, this paper sheds light on the idea that any pedagogical reform necessitates integrating gender education as the core area of the process of modernizing our educational system.
The question this paper attempts to answer is: how can educators promote and inte- grate an education based on gender theory? The present paper attempts to answer this question by adopting a bottom-up approach, that is to say, by teaching these values and sensitizing students to them. This requires a knowledge of students’ perceptions and representations because they are the basis of processes through which meaning is pro- duced. One must also allow them to express their thoughts and feelings, and consider them as active actors in the process.
Practically and methodologically, this paper is the result of fieldwork that was con- ducted at the Lycée Imam Shoutaibi, a high school in the Ghafsai region, in the north of Morocco. Students at this school were interviewed during lessons in the classroom.The method adopted for the interviews was specifically chosen to elicit students’ perceptions on gender identity in an educational space.
The present paper, which answers and analyzes these issues, is organized as follows. The first part is mainly methodological in nature, providing information on methods of research. It also explains the purpose of the paper and its importance to gender studies. The second part is purely theoretical. A set of concepts will be defined and conceptual frameworks will be debated.The third part sets out the practical aspects of the paper. It sets out and analyzes the results of the fieldwork. Its final section deals with recommen- dations, suggestions and measures for effective engendered co-education.
Gender role socialization: theoretical framework
Feminist theorists and activists argue that it is the very transmission of culture and soci- al hierarchies in schools that reproduces gender differences. They evaluate the way in which teaching contributes to the maintenance of sexual divisions in schools. The approach used is to research overt and hidden curricula which represent the conscious or unconscious ideology of such institutions.They argue that all curricula reinforce sex- role stereotyping by encouraging girls to study ‘female’ subjects such as arts and biology. This reinforces existing gender stereotypes, and reduces girls’ future employment oppor- tunities. Classroom dynamics is also a critical part in the process, because it contains implicit messages about the status of men in society.
This gender gap in educational attainment gives girls a lesser status in the classroom, affecting their performance and hindering their commitment to subjects. At an interna- tional conference on Women and Education, the same line of reasoning was followed:
‘Scientific research must aim to pinpoint the tools that can be used to make changes in social atti- tudes, as well as policies in favour of women. School and family are two spaces where the image of women has to be polished and improved. School manuals are generally imbued with a great deal of sexism and gender discrimination.’1
Institutions involved in socialization, especially family and schools, play a central role in gender socialization. The education system, which is a very complex space made up of assorted variables and factors, contributes to the process of inculcating dominant cultu- ral values and beliefs on feminine and masculine identities.
Representation, sexuality and adolescence
Feminists argue that there is no separation between real relationships and representations, since the latter are also part of real experience. In a gendered world, stereotypes are fra- med in constructed images. Stereotypes are the only means by which children form con- cepts of femininity and masculinity. Representation is a process through which meaning is produced. It can also be described in the following terms:
‘Feminists argue that representation continually creates, endorses, or alters ideas of gender identity. Feminist analysis…has produced many strategies for feminist practice…[so as] to use the concept of representation to move from content analysis to understanding the functions of femininity in society and how it is represented in terms of class, race and gender.’2
One aim of the development of a feminist culture, both in theory and practice, is to achieve productive social change. Such development requires a recognition of the fact that representation is a political issue, as it is of strategic importance to analyze women’s subordination within patriarchal forms of representation.
1 Ennaji (2002). 2 Humm (1989) 189.
Representation functions very effectively in educational spaces, as students are not aware of it, and its supporting structures are least visible. It gives students a ready-made matrix in which to position themselves as females and males:
‘The nature of femininity and masculinity is one of the key sites of discursive struggle of the indi- vidual … it is a struggle which begins at birth and which is central to upbringing and education. At the centre of struggle is the common-sense assumption that there is a natural way for girls, boys, women and men to be.This gives rise to a battle to fix particular versions of femininity and mas- culinity as natural.’3
Gender identity is fixed through various activities, roles and behaviours. In the context of adolescents, it enables them to understand their bodies and sexualities. Social repre- sentation of sexuality as an identity of the adolescent guarantees social positioning of the individual in his/her milieu. Sexual orientation is a crucial component of one’s identity. Adolescents interpret their sexuality as the core of their self and of gendered identity. Adolescence – though a universal and civilizational phenomenon – is coloured with various particularities and specificities according to culture, tradition, stereotypes, and archetypes. In Morocco, as in other Arab-Islamic countries, adolescence is a painful phase of life for young men and women. It is a period of hshouma, of fear and taboo. Many girls shed tears during their first menstruation, thinking that they have been raped by God or a man while they were sleeping.
Biological difference creates cultural difference.This is an essentialist view of the soci- alization/acculturation effect:
‘Separation creates an enormous gap in understanding. Men do not understand women…and women do not understand men and it all starts when little girls are separated from little boys in the
hammam. At that point a cosmic frontier splits the world into two halves. The frontier demarcates
the line of power.Wherever a frontier is drawn on Allah’s Earth, the powerful will be on one side and the powerless on the other.’4
Adolescence and sexuality in Morocco and other Arab-Islamic countries are mystified by control strategies involving honour and shame. Adolescents have the perception that all aspects of their behaviour is subject to chronic censorship.They react by rejecting any temptation to express themselves either verbally or non-verbally. These teenagers seem to have evolved ways of surviving within a society teeming with control mechanisms for gendered identity and for any anomalies that do not meet the criteria of normalcy or cultural nurturing.
Becoming gendered: gender role socialization through school discourses
In a previous paper, I dealt with the image of women presented by school textbooks in
3 Sunderland (1995) 167. 4 Mernissi (1994) 242.
general, and those used in the teaching of English in particular.This study dealt with the role of this image in gender identity construction by means of written text and illustra- tions. I attempted to unveil the sexism prevalent in such textbooks.The paper provided an analysis of gender as a socio-cultural variable or construct produced by the way in which females are represented. It shows that these representations reproduce the tools of male domination and reflect attitudes towards women. Course content analysis reveals judgments, opinions and behaviours which segregate between the genders.These results indicate possible directions for future research. The course content is based on a biased division of roles, involving sexual roles that are geared to society’s collective self. The women in these textbooks occupy a dependent social position, leading a life of subordi- nation.Women are depicted either as housewives or family care-givers.The image pro- jected by primary school textbooks is even more extreme5. These roles, which are
echoed implicitly by school textbooks, have both a pedagogic function and a cultural impact:
‘L’action pédagogique qui implique le travail pédagogique comme travail d’inculcation qui doit durer assez pour reproduire une formation durable, un habitus, comme produit de l’intériorisation des principes d’un arbitraire culturel capable de se perpétuer après la cessation de l’action pédago- gique et par là de perpétuer dans les pratiques les principes de l’arbitraire intériorisé.’6
The cultural construction of gendered students is secured in a sustainable way through the use of such textbooks. However, these books are not the only tools for framing the identities of future citizens.The structure of the classroom and the teaching methodolo- gies used, as well as language, are all factors that guarantee the coherent and harmonious inculcation of the values echoed by textbooks.7
The fact that other subjects also create a hierarchical division of roles, is revealed by an examination of the textbooks used in History, Geography, Islamic Education, and Philosophy. These ideological effects were deconstructed in a study of the Moroccan social model, via school debates:
‘La famille, selon ces manuels repose sur un certain nombre de vertus…qui font de la famille musul- mane une institution sociale ou l’harmonie est la règle entre l’époux et l’épouse. Cette harmonie est basée sur la distribution des tâches et sur la complémentarité des rôles de l’homme et de la femme. La femme en tant qu’épouse et mère représente l’affection, elle doit obéir son mari qui en contrepartie doit être bon et bienveillant envers elle. Son rôle est de prendre soin de son époux, de son foyer et de ses enfants; l’homme, en revanche, détient l’autorité. Il assure la subsistance et la sécurité de la famille.’8
5 See Lemrini (1993).
6 Bourdieu and Passeron (1970) 47. 7 See Sadiqi (2002).
The basis of personality is produced through a model of subordination/domination. School discourse perpetuates the status-quo, male domination in a society based on sexual division of labour. Acculturation through school ideologies is efficient, effective and sustainable.
A study of the significance of illustrations and images in history books, concluded that only 20% of illustrations in these textbooks depicted both sexes, the remaining 80% depicted only men. These history books made no mention whatsoever of female leaders.9School projects women’s invisibility in society to inculcate in students (of both
sexes) an ideal concept of family, of gender identity and of the division of space. Methodology: research design
This paper describes the socializing effects of co-education, and their role in gender identity construction. One key issue in the promotion of gender education is sexuality, another involves values linked to being male or female.To ensure that any data collected was reliable, I spent an entire year promoting a culture of dialogue and participation in the classroom. The goal was to break with the traditional role of a teacher as the only source of knowledge and with the student’s classical role as a passive receiver. Increased emphasis was also given to the teaching method used:
‘Pour notre part, nous pensions que les approches qui considèrent l’élève comme un acteur à part entière sont plus propices à favoriser des valeurs basées sur l’autonomie, le sens de l’initiative de même qu’à contribuer au développement et au plein épanouissement de la personnalité de l’enfant et à son intégration dans une société libre et démocratique.’10
This atmosphere enables students to talk freely, to express themselves, and to voice their thoughts and feelings. Students are taught how to listen, speak and develop an opinion. It is a liberating approach, in the sense that this methodology is based on democracy, res- pect and participation.
The fieldwork involved four classes (two baccalaureate classes, one second-level class, and one first-level class).The number of students in these classes ranged from 40 to 42. I interviewed 10 or 12 students from each class, most of whom were female. I found female students to be more courageous and daring than their male counterparts. A total of 40 students were interviewed, more than 30 of whom were female. I found most female students to be intelligent and hard working.Their ages ranged from 15 to 18. Methods of research
In the course of my research, I relied mainly on interviews as a means of data collecti- on. Interviews are authentic in the sense that informants speak freely, without interrup- tions, and express themselves better. Interviews provide direct quotes that can be used later, during data-analysis and interpretation.
9 Chichi and Chabli (1991) 115. 10 See Sadiqi (2003), Ennaji (2005).
For greater reliability, I depended on participant observation.This meant carrying out my teaching duties while observing students’ behaviour, language, and relations with other students (both in the classroom and in the school-yard). This gives me the status of outsider-insider, as far as my position as a researcher is concerned. In order to obtain additional information, I sometimes conducted informal interviews with school offici- als, teachers, and students from other classes. Document analysis was also part of the investigation, as were surveys of previously published studies.The study is predominant- ly qualitative in nature, due to the constraints of time and space.
Purpose and importance
One objective of this paper is to analyze students’ perceptions of femininity and mascu- linity. Another is to unveil the values associated with being male or female. The third objective is to deconstruct female identity and gender ideology in an educational space. The rationale behind these objectives is to explore the effects of socialization and co- education in the construction of a gendered identity. This will help us identify the ele- ments that need to be incorporated into a pedagogical reform based on a gender per- spective.
The results of this fieldwork are of great importance to both gender studies and edu- cation studies. The aim is to employ gender as an analytical tool in deconstructing the impact of education on gendered beings, especially adolescents.
Gender identities within a northern high school: students’ testimonies
As a social space, school is a site of resistance for these adolescents.There are two reasons for this. Firstly, school is a contested terrain within which these young adolescents’ iden- tities are being constructed. Secondly, it is a powerful tool in the process of identity for- mation. School in Morocco is a public space that brings different groups into contact with one another. Both materially and symbolically, teachers and students embody com- peting discourses.
Morocco is a country in which social structures are characterized by two modes of thinking: traditional and modern.11These two tendencies oppose and contradict one
another in many ways. Adolescents establish an in-between space and create a harmoni- ous link between these two ways of life.This necessitates a continual reworking of iden- tity and self.Adolescents successfully negotiate this construction. In this context, I would like to quote De Lauretis and Allcoff ’s definition of identity12:
‘Identity – a necessary component of the subject’s agency – is attained through an on-going pro- cess of people’s self-analysis, interpretation and reworking of their actual social positions, and of the meanings given to these positions through discourse.’
11 In Raissiguier (1995) 80. 12 Truchot (2000) 39.
Identity in this sense is the fruit of an individual’s (or group’s) interpretation and recon- struction of their personal history and particular social location, as well as the discursive context within which they find themselves.
Accordingly, gender identity formation in schools is a process of self-definitions and practices through which these students constantly modify this construction.The ways in which these young adolescents understand and interpret their position as adolescents necessitates a careful negotiation and recording of the symbols and common-sense ideas that permeate mass culture. It also necessitates exchange and communication.
Gender identity interacts with various factors. In an educational space, construction of gender identity is one of the most problematic processes of identity formation.This deri- ves from the space itself, the age of the adolescents in question, and the changing factors within this space.Any definition of the way in which adolescents perceive femininity and masculinity necessitates an analysis of the values associated with being male and female in this particular context. The goal is to unveil female identity in particular and gender ideology in general.
Co-education and gender identity construction
The aim of this section is to analyze students’ perceptions of femininity and masculini- ty, and the values associated with being male and female. The students interviewed dis- cuss the importance of co-education and its effects on the relationship between girls and boys. Each wants to understand the other. Co-education allows them a space in which to meet, hold discussions, and establish friendships.At the same time, they resent the con- trol imposed on them by parents, school officials, and teachers.
Students prefer mixed classes, in which boys and girls can interact, as they feel that this will better equip them to deal with life’s challenges in future. Fatemzahra (aged 18) says: ‘a mixed class is a microcosm of life … it teaches us how to talk to boys and how to get to know their character and personality13…’ Aziz (aged 19) argues that co-education is
the best type of education students can receive:‘at primary school there was an enormous gulf between us. Girls sit with other girls, and boys with other boys … at the lycée there is greater freedom.There is also more space for talk and interaction, although the admi- nistration is keeping a close eye on us … as are our parents’. Shaimaa, one of the students, points out that school offers a space in which meetings with the opposite sex can take place: ‘the contact with your classmates, especially boys, teaches you a lot … I prefer co- education … even though teachers avoid certain subjects, such as sex, for example’.
The subject to which Shaimaa is apparently referring is becoming a necessity in public schools. Most students see sexual education as an important subject and feel that it is