ABSTRACT
Gender responsive education needs gender sensitive teachers as they will be able to provide teaching and learning activities that critically engage with the social construction of genders and address gender biases. Our research examines teachers’ sensitivity towards gender biases in teaching materials, in this case, in the written version of Indonesian folktales. We asked 24 teachers from Medan, Malang, and Ambon to fill out a reception questionnaire on the characters and character development. Our analysis on the teachers’ responses shows that these teachers tend to overlook gender biases in the sampled folktale. They barely noticed the biased characterization and treatment of the male and female protagonists. In doing so, teachers risk sustaining the normalized gender biases and maintaining practices. This finding implies the pressing need for awareness and gender training among teachers in Indonesia to ensure the implementation of gender responsive education.44
