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Exploring depictions of women in history: a critical analysis of visual portrayals in secondary education textbooks.

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Title: Exploring depictions of women in history: a critical analysis of visual portrayals in secondary education textbooks.
Authors: Díaz-Lara, Carmen1 (AUTHOR) carmen.diaz@uva.es, Bel, Juan Carlos2 (AUTHOR), Miguel-Revilla, Diego1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Pedagogy, Culture & Society. Jun2026, Vol. 34 Issue 3, p597-616. 20p.
Subject Terms: *Textbooks, *History education, *Curriculum, *Diversity in education, *Visual literacy, Pictures, Women in art, Sex discrimination
Abstract: Textbooks can play a crucial role in shaping history education, especially given the persistent underrepresentation of women. Visual representations in these textbooks can reinforce implicit biases about gender roles and historical relevance. The aim of this study is to analyse how women are portrayed in images included in secondary education history textbooks. A mixed-methods approach, using ATLAS.ti, was employed to analyse a selection of Spanish textbooks from the most widely used publishers. Results indicate that women appeared less frequently than men and often remain unnamed. Images of women were also predominantly associated with additional information boxes, while men were noticeably connected to the main text. Finally, tasks associated with visual portrayals required low cognitive demand, although the complexity level was higher on average for representations of women. A discussion is presented about the importance of visual representations and promoting visual literacy to foster a more inclusive approach in history education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Pedagogy, Culture & Society is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Exploring depictions of women in history: a critical analysis of visual portrayals in secondary education textbooks.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Pedagogy%2C+Culture+%26+Society%22">Pedagogy, Culture & Society</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 34 Issue 3, p597-616. 20p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Textbooks%22">Textbooks</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22History+education%22">History education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Curriculum%22">Curriculum</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Diversity+in+education%22">Diversity in education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Visual+literacy%22">Visual literacy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pictures%22">Pictures</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Women+in+art%22">Women in art</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sex+discrimination%22">Sex discrimination</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Textbooks can play a crucial role in shaping history education, especially given the persistent underrepresentation of women. Visual representations in these textbooks can reinforce implicit biases about gender roles and historical relevance. The aim of this study is to analyse how women are portrayed in images included in secondary education history textbooks. A mixed-methods approach, using ATLAS.ti, was employed to analyse a selection of Spanish textbooks from the most widely used publishers. Results indicate that women appeared less frequently than men and often remain unnamed. Images of women were also predominantly associated with additional information boxes, while men were noticeably connected to the main text. Finally, tasks associated with visual portrayals required low cognitive demand, although the complexity level was higher on average for representations of women. A discussion is presented about the importance of visual representations and promoting visual literacy to foster a more inclusive approach in history education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Pedagogy, Culture & Society is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1080/14681366.2025.2524515
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: History education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Curriculum
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Diversity in education
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      – SubjectFull: Visual literacy
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      – SubjectFull: Pictures
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      – SubjectFull: Women in art
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      – SubjectFull: Sex discrimination
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      – TitleFull: Exploring depictions of women in history: a critical analysis of visual portrayals in secondary education textbooks.
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            NameFull: Díaz-Lara, Carmen
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            NameFull: Bel, Juan Carlos
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            NameFull: Miguel-Revilla, Diego
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            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2026
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              Y: 2026
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