Endorsing Assimilation or Welcoming Difference? Challenges around Ethnic, Gender, and Sexual Diversity for Dutch Language Textbook Authors.

This article examines how authors of Dutch as a Second or Foreign Language (DSFL) textbooks perceive and incorporate ethnic, gender, and sexual diversity in their materials. Through interviews with ten DSFL textbook authors, the study found that while authors generally support a pluralistic model of ethnic diversity—acknowledging cultural differences within Dutch and Belgian contexts—they also express hierarchical and assimilationist views that prioritize white ethnic majority perspectives and standard language norms. Gender diversity is considered important, mainly within a binary framework, whereas sexual diversity, particularly representations of transgender and non-heterosexual identities, is viewed as more problematic to include. Authors identified challenges to representing diversity in textbooks, including adherence to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), limited budgets, and restrictive image databases, which collectively constrain the extent to which pluralistic diversity can be reflected in DSFL educational materials.