Teachers and Learners' Gender Perceptions and ESL Classroom Practice in Nigeria.

This article investigates how teachers and learners in Nigerian primary and secondary English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms perceive and negotiate gender representations in government-recommended textbooks. Using classroom recordings, student essays, and teacher interviews, the study found that female teachers and girls demonstrated greater gender awareness and actively challenged traditional, gender-insensitive portrayals, while male teachers and boys were more likely to accept normative gender roles presented in the texts. All teachers expressed support for gender equality, though the male teacher showed some reservations about disrupting social norms. The findings highlight that both teachers and learners are active agents who interpret and respond to gender portrayals in educational materials, underscoring the importance of integrating gender-sensitive training in teacher education to foster critical engagement with gender issues in Nigerian classrooms.