What lies beneath the text: Gender representation in a grade 4 English textbook

Abstract

Learning materials at the elementary level are often used as the main source for developing students’ basic language skills. However, beyond their surface function, textbooks may also carry implicit meanings that influence how students understand the world around them. This study investigates the hidden curriculum embedded in the Grade 4 English student textbook (LKS) titled My Next Words Grade 4 “Student’s Book for Elementary School”, published by the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology in 2021. This research uses a discourse analysis approach to explore how gender is represented through character names, assigned roles, language use, and activity contexts across the twelve units in the textbook. The results show that there is a pattern of gender asymmetry in the material, where female characters, especially Cici, are more frequently associated with domestic activities such as cooking, cleaning, and taking care of others, while male characters such as Joshua, Made, and Fahri appear in more varied and active roles in broader contexts. These patterns indicate that the textbook does not only function as a tool for language learning, but also implicitly conveys traditional gender roles to students. This study highlights the importance of developing more balanced and inclusive learning materials to support a fair understanding of gender roles from an early stage.