HREDU82
Assignment 3
Unique No: 520320
Due 23 August 2025
,HREDU82
Assignment 3
Unique No: 520320
DUE 23 August 2025
Comprehensive Research
Philosophical and Theoretical Foundations: Uncovering Gender Stereotypes in
South African Classrooms
1. Introduction
This report sets out the philosophical and theoretical foundations for a qualitative study
aimed at examining gender stereotypes in South African classrooms. It focuses on how
these stereotypes are produced, maintained or challenged through the everyday
practices of teachers and the lived experiences of learners. Education is not a neutral
space; it is a social institution where cultural meanings and power relations are actively
constructed. Understanding how gendered identities are shaped within this environment
requires a framework that recognises the complexity of human interaction and social
meaning. Therefore, this study adopts an interpretivist research paradigm alongside an
integrated theoretical framework grounded in feminist theory and social constructivism.
These elements are selected not simply for their relevance but because they offer
explanatory power to understand how gender is socially constructed and experienced
within specific educational contexts.
, 2. Research Paradigm: Interpretivism
2.1 Paradigmatic Positioning in Qualitative Inquiry
The interpretivist paradigm is appropriate for this study because it aligns with the view
that reality is socially constructed rather than objectively measurable. This ontological
position directly supports the research aim, which is to uncover how gender identities
and stereotypes are created and reinforced in school settings.
Gender is not a biological given but a set of social roles, performances and expectations
shaped by cultural norms. Interpretivism allows the researcher to investigate these
processes from the perspective of those experiencing them.
The epistemological basis of interpretivism holds that knowledge is generated through
shared meanings and human interaction. This approach contrasts with positivism, which
seeks detached, objective truths. In this study, knowledge is understood as contextual
and value-laden, co-produced by researchers and participants. This is essential when
dealing with gender stereotypes, which often operate at a subtle, unconscious level and
cannot be adequately explored through purely quantitative methods.
Using interviews and focus groups enables the researcher to engage with participants in
a way that recognises them as active agents in meaning-making. For example,
uncovering why a teacher consistently praises boys’ contributions in mathematics more
than girls’ cannot be achieved through numerical data alone. It requires dialogic inquiry
into the teacher’s assumptions, the classroom's cultural norms and the broader
gendered expectations operating in the school. This confirms that interpretivism is not
only relevant but necessary for understanding the layered and contested meanings of
gender in education.
2.2 Application to the South African Context
The choice of interpretivism is particularly justified in the South African context, where
historical, racial, and cultural dynamics continue to shape gender relations in schools.
Assignment 3
Unique No: 520320
Due 23 August 2025
,HREDU82
Assignment 3
Unique No: 520320
DUE 23 August 2025
Comprehensive Research
Philosophical and Theoretical Foundations: Uncovering Gender Stereotypes in
South African Classrooms
1. Introduction
This report sets out the philosophical and theoretical foundations for a qualitative study
aimed at examining gender stereotypes in South African classrooms. It focuses on how
these stereotypes are produced, maintained or challenged through the everyday
practices of teachers and the lived experiences of learners. Education is not a neutral
space; it is a social institution where cultural meanings and power relations are actively
constructed. Understanding how gendered identities are shaped within this environment
requires a framework that recognises the complexity of human interaction and social
meaning. Therefore, this study adopts an interpretivist research paradigm alongside an
integrated theoretical framework grounded in feminist theory and social constructivism.
These elements are selected not simply for their relevance but because they offer
explanatory power to understand how gender is socially constructed and experienced
within specific educational contexts.
, 2. Research Paradigm: Interpretivism
2.1 Paradigmatic Positioning in Qualitative Inquiry
The interpretivist paradigm is appropriate for this study because it aligns with the view
that reality is socially constructed rather than objectively measurable. This ontological
position directly supports the research aim, which is to uncover how gender identities
and stereotypes are created and reinforced in school settings.
Gender is not a biological given but a set of social roles, performances and expectations
shaped by cultural norms. Interpretivism allows the researcher to investigate these
processes from the perspective of those experiencing them.
The epistemological basis of interpretivism holds that knowledge is generated through
shared meanings and human interaction. This approach contrasts with positivism, which
seeks detached, objective truths. In this study, knowledge is understood as contextual
and value-laden, co-produced by researchers and participants. This is essential when
dealing with gender stereotypes, which often operate at a subtle, unconscious level and
cannot be adequately explored through purely quantitative methods.
Using interviews and focus groups enables the researcher to engage with participants in
a way that recognises them as active agents in meaning-making. For example,
uncovering why a teacher consistently praises boys’ contributions in mathematics more
than girls’ cannot be achieved through numerical data alone. It requires dialogic inquiry
into the teacher’s assumptions, the classroom's cultural norms and the broader
gendered expectations operating in the school. This confirms that interpretivism is not
only relevant but necessary for understanding the layered and contested meanings of
gender in education.
2.2 Application to the South African Context
The choice of interpretivism is particularly justified in the South African context, where
historical, racial, and cultural dynamics continue to shape gender relations in schools.
