Linguistic sexism in the teaching practices of natural sciences: approaches from an ethnographic study

Abstract

This research aimed to understand how pedagogical practices are carried out in natural science classes, particularly those related to the oral discursive practices of teachers in their interaction with their students. The research was carried out through an ethnographic study in an establishment in Santiago de Chile, which went from monogeneric male to mixed. During the process, class minutes and in-depth interviews were collected with the science teacher and two high school students. The data were subjected to a discourse analysis by raising four categories, from which it is possible to conclude that there is linguistic sexism in the pedagogical practices of the natural sciences, which are characterized by the ambiguity between gender and biological sex. the reiteration in the assignment of roles from a patriarchal vision, the disuse and invalidation of non-sexist inclusive language and the reproduction of gender stereotypes through the teaching of scientific content. Based on these findings, the need to strengthen teacher training with a gender perspective is reaffirmed, since the inclusion of people of different sex in the same space does not guarantee progress towards the transformation of science classes as spaces that promote social justice.