The Relationship Between Teachers’ and Learners’ Gender and Their View on Principles of Critical Pedagogy

Abstract

Although there are a lot of research studies conducted in the area of critical pedagogy (CP), little attention has been paid to the comparative investigation of Iranian EFL teachers and learners’ views toward CP with regard to their gender. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between teachers’ and learners’ gender and their view on principles of critical pedagogy. To this end, 143 students and 37 teachers were randomly selected from language institutes in Shiraz, Iran. Based on the results of a Quick Placement Test (QPT), the students were homogeneously divided into three groups of elementary (scoring from 0 to 29), intermediate (scoring from 30 to 47), and advanced (scoring from 48 to 60) levels. Then, to explore teachers’ views and their views toward CP, the Farsi version of Yilmaz (2009) CP questionnaire was administered. Findings showed that there is not a significant difference between male and female participants with regard to their views toward CP. Findings of this study can not only be used by learners and teachers as well as curriculum developers, but they also can be useful as new windows for further research by experts. 

Keywords: critical pedagogy, attitude, critical thinking, gender, EFL learners and teachers.