Cultural Diversity in Turkish EFL Coursebooks: Analyzing Representation of Race and Identity

Gökçe Nur Türkmen; Ece Zehir Topkaya

doi:10.35207/later.1776934

Cultural Diversity in Turkish EFL Coursebooks: Analyzing Representation of Race and Identity

Abstract

Educational materials assume a crucial role as they serve as guiding resources for teachers and students, shaping their perspectives, beliefs, and thereby playing a pivotal role in cultivating inclusive and culturally responsive educational environments. Thus, this study examines the representation of race and identity in Turkish state high school English as a Foreign Language (EFL) coursebooks and aims to assess the extent to which these coursebooks exhibit an inclusive representation of diverse racial and cultural identities. Using a qualitative approach involving image and text analysis, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade coursebooks’ representation of race and identity was investigated by examining the characters’ races, names, nationalities, and famous figures portrayed. The research reveals a significant overemphasis on portraying White individuals in Turkish EFL high school coursebooks, highlighting potential dominance of Western cultural perspectives and limiting exposure to real-world diversity. The underrepresentation of other racial backgrounds, exclusion of indigenous and multiracial identities, and a focus on fair skin tones underscore the urgent need for more inclusive depictions in educational materials. In this context, his research can guide the coursebook improvement process, suggesting ways to enhance representation and ensure diverse perspectives are integrated effectively.

Keywords

Ethical Statement

As this study analyzed publicly available coursebooks rather than collecting data from human participants, no ethical approval or consent procedures were required.

References

Adukia, A., Eble, A., Harrison, E., Runesha, H. B., & Szasz, T. (2023). What we teach about race and gender: Representation in images and text of children’s books. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 138(4), 2225–2285. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjad028
Alptekin, C. (1993). Target-language culture in EFL materials. ELT Journal, 47(2), 136–142. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/47.2.136
Arıkan, A. (2005). Age, gender, and social class in ELT coursebooks: A critical study. Hacettepe University Education Faculty Journal, 28, 29–38.
Authors. (2024). Promoting multicultural learning: An investigation of race representation in Turkish secondary school EFL coursebooks. Participatory Educational Research, 11(5), 125–145. https://doi.org/10.17275/per.24.67.11.5
Baker, W. (2012). From cultural awareness to intercultural awareness: Culture in English language teaching. Language and Intercultural Communication, 12(2), 82–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2012.667417
Board of Education and Training. (2022). Ortaöğretim kurumları haftalık ders çizelgeleri [Secondary education institutions weekly course schedules].
https://ttkb.meb.gov.tr/meb_iys_dosyalar/2022_01/19094445_OrtaoYretim-hdc-2022-2023.pdf Türkmen & Zehir-Topkaya LATER, 2025-2, 158-180
Bon, L. W., & Chuaychoowong, M. (2023). An analysis of multiculturalism in Thai high school EFL textbooks. In N. Bowen (Ed.), Multicultural perspectives in English language teaching (pp. 105–126). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20959-2_7

Bouzid, A. (2017). International ELT textbooks and cultural representations. English Language Teaching, 10(7), 67–76. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v10n7p67
Bowen, N., & Hopper, D. (2022). The representation of race in English language learning coursebooks: Inclusivity and equality in images. TESOL Quarterly. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3169
Brown, B. A., Mangram, C., Sun, K., Cross, K., & Raab, E. (2017). Representing racial identity: Identity, race, and the construction of African American STEM students. Urban Education, 52(2), 170–206. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085916661385
Bulut, M., & Arıkan, A. (2015). Socially responsible teaching and English language coursebooks: Focus on ethnicity, sex, and disability. Journal of Yaşar University, 10(39), 13–20. https://doi.org/10.19168/jyu.46053
Canagarajah, A. S. (1999). Resisting linguistic imperialism in English teaching. Oxford University Press.
Çelik, A., & Yılmaz, B. (2024). Preschool teachers’ perspectives about diversity in a nation-state country: A glimpse from Türkiye. Journal for Multicultural Education, 18(2), 101–115. https://doi.org/10.1108/jme-04-2024-0041
Charunsri, K. (2019). The challenges of implementing content and language integrated learning in tertiary education in Thailand: A review and implications for materials. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 10(4), 125–129. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.10n.4p.125
Clarke, J., & Clarke, M. (1990). Stereotyping in TESOL materials. In B. Harrison (Ed.), Culture and the language classroom (pp. 31–44). Modern English Publications & British Council.
Demir, Y., & Yavuz, M. (2017). Do ELT coursebooks still suffer from gender inequalities? A case study from Turkey. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 13(1), 103–122.
Demirtaş, H., & Karaca, S. (2025). The role of Turkish educational culture in multicultural education. International Journal of Advanced Instruction, 14(1), 89–104.
Dinh, H. T., & Sharifian, F. (2017). Reimagining TESOL as a global service in the era of the new imperialism. In F. Sharifian (Ed.), Advances in cultural linguistics (pp. 241–263). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4056-6_12
Elo, S., & Kyngäs, H. (2008). The qualitative content analysis process. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 62(1), 107–115. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04569.x
Fakazlı, S., & Baytar, T. (2021). The representation of culture and identity in ELT coursebooks: A critical content analysis. Language and Education, 35(2), 175–194. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2020.1848464
Hajisoteriou, C., & Angelides, P. (2016). Multicultural education and teachers’ perceptions: A case study of the Republic of Cyprus. Prospects, 46(3–4), 481–496. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-017-9404-z
Hall, S. (1992). The question of cultural identity. In D. Held & A. McGrew (Eds.), Modernity and its futures (pp. 274–316). Polity Press.
Hilliard, A. D. (2014). A critical examination of representation and culture in four English language textbooks. Language Education in Asia, 5(2), 238–252. https://doi.org/10.5746/LEiA/14/V5/I2/A06/Hilliard
Jenkins, J. (2015). Repositioning English and multilingualism in English as a lingua franca. Englishes in Practice, 2(3), 49–85. https://doi.org/10.1515/eip-2015-0003
Kachru, B. B. (1985). Standards, codification and sociolinguistic realism: The English language in the outer circle. In R. Quirk & H. G. Widdowson (Eds.), English in the world: Teaching and learning the language and literatures (pp. 11–30). Cambridge University Press.
Kaya, M., & Özdemir, L. (2024). Multicultural education in Turkey: Exploring kindergarten teachers’ problems while working with students from different cultural backgrounds. Early Childhood Education Journal, 52(3), 233–250. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-023-01517-3
Kubota, R. (2021). Reclaiming cultural diversity and redefining the space of the racial other: The case of the cover images of an ELT textbook. TESOL Quarterly, 55(4), 777–806. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3037
Lee, E. H. (2024). Critical global citizenship education: Unpacking representations of racialization in Korean English textbooks. English Teaching, 79(2), 57–79. https://doi.org/10.15858/engtea.79.2.202406.57
Mayring, P. (2014). Qualitative content analysis: Theoretical foundation, basic procedures and software solution. GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-395173
Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Moeller, A. K., & Nugent, K. (2014). Building intercultural competence in the language classroom. University of Nebraska–Lincoln. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/teachlearnfacpub/161
MoNE. (2018). Secondary EFL teaching programme. Ministry of National Education Publications. Morgan, H. (2021). Conducting a qualitative document analysis. The Qualitative Report, 27(1), 64–77. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2022.5044
O’Donnell, C. (2019, April 22). Commentary: Teaching multicultural literature (Workshop 1). https://web.archive.org/web/20190422103450/http://www.learner.org/workshops/tml/workshop1/commentary.html
Pratama, A., Afriansyah, M. R., & Pratama, R. (2021). A content analysis of cultural representations in EFL coursebooks. Journal of English Education and Linguistics Studies, 8(1), 99–120. https://doi.org/10.30762/jeels.v8i1.2345
Sarıçoban, A., & Kırmızı, Ö. (2020). An analysis of Turkish EFL coursebooks in terms of intercultural communicative elements. International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 12(2), 226–244.
Selvi, A. F., & Kocaman, C. (2021). (Mis/under)representations of gender and sexuality in locally produced ELT materials. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 20(2), 118–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2020.1762820
Setiyawan, R., & Maulida, M. (2024). The colonialism and stereotypes based on race and religion: Representation of Papua in Indonesian elementary school textbooks. Progresiva: Jurnal Pemikiran dan Pendidikan Islam, 13(1), 54–66. https://doi.org/10.22219/progresiva.v13i01.32449
Setyono, B., & Widodo, H. P. (2019). The representation of multicultural values in the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture-endorsed EFL textbook: A critical discourse analysis. Intercultural Education, 30(4), 383–397. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2019.1598091
Shin, H., Daly, J. A., & Brown, K. D. (2011). Multicultural education: A caring-centered, reflective approach. Taylor & Francis.
Sibanda, L., & Herman, T. (2024). Do textbooks reflect learners’ diversity? A case study of Grade 4 English and life-skills textbooks. South African Journal of Education, 44(2), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v44n2a2328
Solhi-Andarab, M. (2015). Representation of the characters in the claimed English as an international language-targeted coursebooks. Studies in English Language Teaching, 3(4), 294–309. https://doi.org/10.22158/selt.v3n4p294
Stahl, J., & King, K. (2020). Trustworthiness in qualitative research. In J. Stahl (Ed.), Qualitative case studies on implementation of educational technology in a foreign language program (pp. 29–39). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429327600-3 The National Association for Multicultural Education. (2023). Definitions of multicultural education.https://www.nameorg.org/definitions_of_multicultural_e.php
Toh, G. K. (2012). Reframing internationalisation: The role of language in the internationalised curriculum. AILA Review, 25(1), 60–77. https://doi.org/10.1075/aila.25.05toh
TÜİK [Turkish Statistical Institute]. (2023). Uluslararası göç istatistikleri [International immigration statistics], 2021.https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Uluslararasi-Goc-Istatistikleri-2021
UNESCO. (2022). Higher education global data report (Summary): A contribution to the World Higher Education Conference, 18–20 May 2022. UNESCO.
Yıldız, A., & Demir, S. (2025). Exploring multicultural education through refugee student narratives in Turkish classrooms. International Journal of Educational Narratives, 12(1), 45–67.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

English As A Second Language

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Gökçe Nur Türkmen ^*
0000-0002-8755-1803
Türkiye

Ece Zehir Topkaya
0000-0001-5364-7551
Türkiye

Publication Date

December 23, 2025

Submission Date

September 2, 2025

Acceptance Date

November 8, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 1970 Volume: 8 Number: 2

DOI

https://doi.org/10.35207/later.1776934

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA24MD25JE

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Türkmen, G. N., & Zehir Topkaya, E. (2025). Cultural Diversity in Turkish EFL Coursebooks: Analyzing Representation of Race and Identity. Language Teaching and Educational Research, 8(2), 158-180. https://doi.org/10.35207/later.1776934