Irene Biemmi | Università degli Studi di Firenze (University of Florence) (original) (raw)
I am a research fellow at the Department of Education, Languages, Interculture, Literature and Psychology (FORLILPSI), of the University of Florence. My research fields concern gender issues in education with particular reference to the critical analysis of teaching materials, teacher training and guidance. Together with Barbara Poggio and Stefano Ciccone I direct the collection of scientific studies "Questions of gender" for the Rosenberg
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Gender and Education, 2015
When politicians discuss Italy's position in terms of achieving equality between men and wome... more When politicians discuss Italy's position in terms of achieving equality between men and women, the school environment is rarely called into question or mentioned. This is despite the fact that gender inequality remains a prominent feature of the Italian education system. The reason for this failure to perceive the problem, and the consequent lack of investment in policies for gender equality in education, derives from a massive misunderstanding: school is perceived by the public and the political class as one of the few environments within the highly sexist Italian social fabric in which equality has been achieved. On closer examination, however, it is clear that the Italian school is merely the image of a sexist society which in turn acts as the driving force for a traditional and stereotypical view of male and female roles. This article will discuss this perspective and investigate three areas of education that are problematic in gender terms: gendered educational choices; sexist stereotypes transmitted through textbooks; and the lack of adequate training for teachers.
In Italy, the theme of equality in textbooks has been accepted much later than in other European ... more In Italy, the theme of equality in textbooks has been accepted much later than in other European and international contexts, and studies and research dedicated to this subject area are still insufficient today. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Department for Equal Opportunities - in collaboration with the IEA (Italian Publishers Association) - promoted the Polite project (for equal opportunities in textbooks): a self-regulating European project for educational publishing, with the purpose of eliminating gender stereotype in teaching texts. This essay begins with a short review of studies carried out in Italy since the 1970s, with particular reference to studies of linguistic sexism introduced by Alma Sabatini in the mid-Eighties. This is followed by presentation of research focusing on samples of primary school reading books published in the early 2000s. The research makes combined use of quantitative and qualitative assessment methodology. The results demonstrates that the g...
Stereotypes and prejudices are the fruit of social categorization that has the aim of organizing ... more Stereotypes and prejudices are the fruit of social categorization that has the aim of organizing the knowledge of social reality, simplifying it, so as to make it more accessible. Gender categories are the basis of social organization: sexual diferentiation of male and female roles supports a layered and naturalized social schema, absorbed from early infancy. his article investigates the process of socialization of gender roles during infancy, identifying the cultural and social conditioning that still today form female and male identities. Riassunto: Stereotipi e pregiudizi sono frutto di categorizzazioni sociali che hanno lo scopo di organizzare la conoscenza della realtà sociale, sempliicandola, in modo da renderla più accessibile. Le categorie di genere stanno a fondamento dell'organizzazio-ne sociale: la diferenziazione sessuale dei ruoli maschili e femminili poggia su schemi sociali sedimentati e naturalizzati, assorbiti in dalla primissima infanzia. Il presente contributo...
This article proposes a pedagogical reading of the rights of the child, using the text of theCRC ... more This article proposes a pedagogical reading of the rights of the child, using the text of theCRC international convention of 1989 as its starting point. The first section traces theprocess by which the rights of the child came to be acknowledged and points out the pedagogicalsignificance of the juridical principles underpinning the text of the CRC. Thesecond section sets out a thematic examination of the principle of non-discrimination –one of the tenets of the CRC – with reference to gender and goes on to demonstrate theconsonance and strictly complementary nature of the goals of women’s empowermentand those of the protection and promotion of the rights of the child: goals enshrined atthe centre of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the action programmesigned in September 2015 by the governments of the 193 United Nations member countries.
The article deals with the lack of men in training courses dedicated to the educational, health, ... more The article deals with the lack of men in training courses dedicated to the educational, health, and care professions.Our research, carried out with university students who have been able to escape their “gender cages” by enrolling in studies generally regarded as female preserves, has allowed us to identify multiple social and cultural factors that discourage young men from entering fields of knowledge and practice that, historically, have been closed to their gender. The article specifically examines three factors: Italian school orientation policies, which are silent on gender issues; a cultural and social framework packed with stereotypes that devaluemen who choose careers in the health and care sectors; and non-stereotypical male role models at home and school who demonstrate their skills and passion in the educational, health, and care fields.Our objective is to offer pedagogical hypotheses on the evolution of the male gender as well as to provide a general outline of educatio...
Gender and Education, 2015
When politicians discuss Italy's position in terms of achieving equality between men and wome... more When politicians discuss Italy's position in terms of achieving equality between men and women, the school environment is rarely called into question or mentioned. This is despite the fact that gender inequality remains a prominent feature of the Italian education system. The reason for this failure to perceive the problem, and the consequent lack of investment in policies for gender equality in education, derives from a massive misunderstanding: school is perceived by the public and the political class as one of the few environments within the highly sexist Italian social fabric in which equality has been achieved. On closer examination, however, it is clear that the Italian school is merely the image of a sexist society which in turn acts as the driving force for a traditional and stereotypical view of male and female roles. This article will discuss this perspective and investigate three areas of education that are problematic in gender terms: gendered educational choices; sexist stereotypes transmitted through textbooks; and the lack of adequate training for teachers.
In Italy, the theme of equality in textbooks has been accepted much later than in other European ... more In Italy, the theme of equality in textbooks has been accepted much later than in other European and international contexts, and studies and research dedicated to this subject area are still insufficient today. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Department for Equal Opportunities - in collaboration with the IEA (Italian Publishers Association) - promoted the Polite project (for equal opportunities in textbooks): a self-regulating European project for educational publishing, with the purpose of eliminating gender stereotype in teaching texts. This essay begins with a short review of studies carried out in Italy since the 1970s, with particular reference to studies of linguistic sexism introduced by Alma Sabatini in the mid-Eighties. This is followed by presentation of research focusing on samples of primary school reading books published in the early 2000s. The research makes combined use of quantitative and qualitative assessment methodology. The results demonstrates that the g...
Stereotypes and prejudices are the fruit of social categorization that has the aim of organizing ... more Stereotypes and prejudices are the fruit of social categorization that has the aim of organizing the knowledge of social reality, simplifying it, so as to make it more accessible. Gender categories are the basis of social organization: sexual diferentiation of male and female roles supports a layered and naturalized social schema, absorbed from early infancy. his article investigates the process of socialization of gender roles during infancy, identifying the cultural and social conditioning that still today form female and male identities. Riassunto: Stereotipi e pregiudizi sono frutto di categorizzazioni sociali che hanno lo scopo di organizzare la conoscenza della realtà sociale, sempliicandola, in modo da renderla più accessibile. Le categorie di genere stanno a fondamento dell'organizzazio-ne sociale: la diferenziazione sessuale dei ruoli maschili e femminili poggia su schemi sociali sedimentati e naturalizzati, assorbiti in dalla primissima infanzia. Il presente contributo...
This article proposes a pedagogical reading of the rights of the child, using the text of theCRC ... more This article proposes a pedagogical reading of the rights of the child, using the text of theCRC international convention of 1989 as its starting point. The first section traces theprocess by which the rights of the child came to be acknowledged and points out the pedagogicalsignificance of the juridical principles underpinning the text of the CRC. Thesecond section sets out a thematic examination of the principle of non-discrimination –one of the tenets of the CRC – with reference to gender and goes on to demonstrate theconsonance and strictly complementary nature of the goals of women’s empowermentand those of the protection and promotion of the rights of the child: goals enshrined atthe centre of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the action programmesigned in September 2015 by the governments of the 193 United Nations member countries.
The article deals with the lack of men in training courses dedicated to the educational, health, ... more The article deals with the lack of men in training courses dedicated to the educational, health, and care professions.Our research, carried out with university students who have been able to escape their “gender cages” by enrolling in studies generally regarded as female preserves, has allowed us to identify multiple social and cultural factors that discourage young men from entering fields of knowledge and practice that, historically, have been closed to their gender. The article specifically examines three factors: Italian school orientation policies, which are silent on gender issues; a cultural and social framework packed with stereotypes that devaluemen who choose careers in the health and care sectors; and non-stereotypical male role models at home and school who demonstrate their skills and passion in the educational, health, and care fields.Our objective is to offer pedagogical hypotheses on the evolution of the male gender as well as to provide a general outline of educatio...