Bias, Interpreting, &
Stereotyping
“A Nice Little Wife to Make Things
Pleasant:” Portrayals of Women in
Canadian History Textbooks
Approved in British Columbia
Women’s History
Interwar Period
Writer’s and Queens
Filler Feminism
$100
$100
$100
$100
$200
$200
$200
$200
$300
$300
$300
$300
$400
$400
$400
$400
$500
$500
$500
$500
Women’s History $100
• What was Edith Deyell referring to when using
the phrase “ a nice little wife to make things
pleasant,” she was referring to the decision to
_______ the French fur trader.
Marry
Women’s History $200
• It is worthwhile to take a moment to consider
why women have been deprived of a usable
past. It is only in the past ______ years that
historians of women’s and gender history have
come to the fore in Canada.
Thirty
Women’s History $300
• Historians have examined ways in which
working class homemakers have earned an
income or stretched the income of the male
breadwinner. The family home was frequently
the setting for paid labour. Give an example
of this type of paid labour.
 Spinning, weaving, dressmaking, tutoring.
Women’s History $400
• If only macro-economic, political, and military
events are considered to be of significance
historically, then there is little hope of seeing
many _____ on the pages of Canadian history
textbooks.
Women
Women’s History $500
• It was not the evil intent of male historians
that left out women in history, women and
their activities have been missed because we
have asked questions that are ____________
to women.
Inappropriate
Interwar Period $100
• Married women worked predominately in
their homes and were supported by their
________ in the interwar period.
Husbands
Interwar Period $200
• Middle-class women sometimes engaged in
volunteer activities such as??
Rural school board members, church or
charitable work
Interwar Period $300
• James W. Loewen has used the metaphor of
the _______, which usefully describes
representations of women during this period.
Remora
Interwar Period $400
• Pioneer women are presented as _______ and
__________ or as onlookers to the crucial
tasks in which the males are engaged.
Weak and dependent
Interwar Period $500
• Which Alberta educator and curriculum
developer, acknowledges females, and who’s
texts were approved for use in the elementary
and junior high schools in BC and other
provinces over a period spanning four
decades?
Donalda Dickie
Writers and Queens
$100
• What period of time in Canada was one of
very gradual change in terms of women’s
social roles?
The 1950s to 1970s
Writers and Queens
$200
• By 1970, women comprised of ____ percent
of the paid labour force?
32.7 percent
Writers and Queens
$300
• A study conducted in BC in the 1970s revealed
that, in the case of childless couples, a wife’s
entry into the paid labour force meant that
her husband relieved her of domestic duties
for an average of six ______ a week.
Minutes
Writers and Queens
$400
• Women and girls continue to receive shrift in
the textbooks. Those adult women who merit
inclusion are usually _______ or _______.
Writers or royalty
Writers and Queens
$500
• Donalda Dickie uses what phrase, which is a
concept quite unique to this era?
Forefathers and foremothers
Filler Feminism
$100
• Filler Feminism started in what decade?
1980s
Filler Feminism
$200
• The human rights commission, established in
1975, included an evolving view of women
and their roles in Canadian society. This
coincided with the second wave of feminism,
known as the _____ __________ movement.
Women’s liberation
Filler Feminism
$300
• In this era, women demanded social and
economic reform’s. Give one example of the
social or economic reform’s women
demanded?
Equal-pay legislation, paid maternity leave,
the removal of occupational barriers in the
workplace.
Filler Feminism
$400
• In BC, the textbook assessment involved four
separate analysis: for instructional design,
readability, social considerations, and
curriculum match. Which analysis examined
areas such as language usage, gender role
portrayals, age portrayals, etc.
Social considerations
Filler Feminism
$500
• In BC there is marked disparity in this period
between the elementary textbooks and
secondary. The secondary textbooks are
strangely devoid of women and of discussion
of ______-_______ issues. For instance, in
the textbook, Thinking About Our Heritage,
there is only 3 references to women and 81
references to men.
Gender-related
Riddle Me This
"A man wanted to get home but he
can’t, he's afraid because a man in a
mask is waiting for him there"
• What's going on here, who is the man
in the mask and why is the man
afraid?
7 Forms of Bias in
Instructional Materials
① Invisibility: What You Don’t See Makes a Lasting
Impression
② Stereotyping: Shortcuts to Bigotry
③ Imbalance and Selectivity: A Tale Half Told
④ Unreality: Rose Colored Glasses
⑤ Fragmentation and Isolation: The Parts Are Less
than the Whole
⑥ Linguistic Bias: Words Count
⑦ Cosmetic Bias: "Shiny" covers
http://www.sadker.org/curricularbias.html
Activity…
• Read the article given to your group
• With your group discuss whose voices are represented
in the article and whose are silenced? How does this
lead to bias? Try to find 2 forms of bias (if there are
any)
• Be prepared to share with the class
• Group Discussion Question:
o Why is it important to carefully evaluate and
critically think about the learning resources used in
the classroom?
Problems that may arise…
• Misinformed or misinterpretation of information
• Confusion and frustration
• Eat away classroom time
• Provides limited exposure to different views of
the world
o An appropriate education should provide
individuals with different ways of viewing the
world, communicating about it, and
successfully coping with the questions and
issues of daily living
Discussion Questions
• What are some factors that you as a teacher would
consider when choosing and evaluating learning
resources to use in the classroom?
BC Ministry of Education
Selection Criteria for
Evaluating Learning Resources
1. Curriculum Fit
2. Content
3. Instructional Design
4. Technical Considerations
5. Social Considerations
“A key feature of effective teaching is the
selection of instructional materials that meet the
needs of students and fit the constraints of the
teaching and learning environment.”
~ The National Academies Press
The Danger of a Single
Story