Addressing student readers and representation of gender. A comparative analysis of Palestinian and Norwegian textbooks in Arabic and Norwegian

Abstract

This paper presents and discusses results from a comparative analysis of textbooks in the mother tongue subject (Arabic and Norwegian) in Palestine and Norway. The analysis will concentrate on two issues: the way student readers are addressed and on gender representation in the Palestinian and Norwegian textbooks. The analysis is a part of a larger research project which involves the University of Bethlehem, Palestine, and Vestfold University College, Norway. Several textbooks have been analysed by pairs of researchers, one in Bethlehem and one in Vestfold. The research cooperation has gone on since November 2007 and will be concluded in June 2008.