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Assessing Herstory of WWII: Content Analysis of High School History Textbooks

Laurie L. Gordy; Jennifer Hogan; Alice Pritchard Online publication date: 11 August 2010

To cite this Article Gordy, Laurie L. , Hogan, Jennifer and Pritchard, Alice(2004) 'Assessing Herstory of WWII: Content

Analysis of High School History Textbooks', Equity & Excellence in Education, 37: 1, 80 91 To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/10665680490422133 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10665680490422133

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Equity & Excellence in Education, 37: 8091, 2004 Copyright c Taylor & Francis, Inc. ISSN 1066-5684 print /1547-3457 online DOI: 10.1080/10665680490422133

Assessing Herstory of WWII: Content Analysis of High School History Textbooks

Laurie L. Gordy, Jennifer Hogan, and Alice Pritchard

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Much of what U.S. students know about history is shaped by the textbook presentation of the subject. By high school, students should be exposed to an inclusive view of U.S. history. Previous research suggests that U.S. history has often centered on the stories of men, particularly from the perspective of white men in positions of power. It is important to continually assess how far textbooks have come in terms of including womennot just the quantity of such inclusion, but the quality as well. In our research, we use Banks scale of curriculum integration to evaluate how well womens experiences during WWII have been integrated into high school textbooks. Our findings suggest that women are counted in the depiction of WWII; however, this inclusion lacks attention to womens agency during the war and to the unique experiences of African American women during the war. Without such explorations in the textbooks, the written version of history becomes an exclusive and distorted body of knowledge.

chools are an important socialization agent for shaping not only our knowledge of the world, but also our attitudes towards others and ourselves. According to Spring (2000), The way in which U.S. history is interpreted in the public schools profoundly affects the way in which American students view their country (p. 243). One major way in which history is interpreted to students is through school textbooks. Given that a student has potential exposure to more than 32,000 textbook pages in his or her elementary school experience (Holt, 1990), it is important to assess the content of such textbooks as to their interpretation of history. Also, with increasing mergers of textbook publishers (as with other companies), there are fewer producers of textbooks and thus even fewer chances for diverse views to be included (Spring, 2000). The knowledge provided by texts also shapes our ideas about womens and mens roles. In fact, Kimmel (2000) argues that schools are central areas in which gender is reproduced. Social meanings attached to women and men can be revealed in studying history. Due to the ability of texts to influence peoples thoughts, there has been a consistent struggle for the production of knowledge in textbooks. Some scholars (Gordy & Pritchard, 1995; Guy-Sheftall & Bell-Scott, 1989; Rich, 1977; Ruth, 1997; Sleeter & Grant, 1987; Takaki, 1993) have argued that the story we receive from history

is not inclusive of the diverse society in which we live, but instead reflects the experiences of upper-class white malesthus excluding the stories of racial minorities and women. Womens Studies as a field began in 1969, partly as a response to this exclusionary view of history (Ruth, 1997). A multicultural curriculum has been offered and suggested as a means to address the biased and one-sided view of history we receive (Banks, 1994). Given our previous exploration of fifth grade social studies textbooks (Gordy & Pritchard, 1995), we wanted to examine the degree of inclusiveness for high school history texts during a time period (World War II) that had a significant impact on shifting ideologies regarding gender. As Lunardini (1994) claims, The war changed American women in their outlook toward family issues, in their desire to earn their own way, in their willingness to take advantage of new opportunities, and in their refusal to return to prewar sensibilities(pp. 264265). World War II was an important time for changes in womens paid work force experiences, and serves as an excellent example of changing social meanings associated with gender. Using content analysis and a multiculturalism scale (Banks, 1993), we assess the extent to which textbooks present an inclusive view of this history.

BACKGROUND Multiculturalism

Address correspondence to Laurie L. Gordy, Social Science and Humanities Division, Daniel Webster College, 20 University Drive, Nashua, NH 03063. E-mail: gordy@dwc.edu 80

Multiculturalism is viewed as one way to achieve a democratic society with less gender, race, and class

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oppression (Apple, 1990; Sleeter & Grant, 1987). Multicultural education prepares students not only to understand the existence of social inequalities but to know that they have the ability to act upon their beliefs to change these inequalities (Pang, 1991, p. 197). A multicultural education in which students are exposed to the diversity that exists in the United States and to the relationship of this diversity to the world (Baker, 1979, p. 256) is thought to address the one-sided view of history presented, and thus better prepare students for a diverse and democratic society. A one-sided view of history reinforces stereotypes of minority groups that can be used to justify their oppression (Collins, 1990). In research on the broader notions of gender inequity in schools, Lee, Marks, and Byrd (1994) conclude that feminist theory, prior to the 1990s, had little impact on education in terms of the structure and types of school reform policies adopted. Yet as hooks (2000) claims, one of the goals of the feminist movement should be to decrease the gender bias found in educational curriculum and teaching. Since schools are an important socialization agent, an inclusive curriculum is thought to promote respect for and knowledge of human diversity. Multicultural education has the potential, if integrated effectively, to eliminate many stereotypical historical portrayals of groups. Ways to transform the curriculum and schools to make them more multicultural have often been discussed in terms of levels, or stages, of inclusion. Schuster and Van Dyne (1985) outline six stages in which the liberal arts curriculum progresses from the complete lack of womens inclusion in the curriculum to a transformed curriculumone that opens entirely new ways of asking and of knowing. Building upon Schuster and Van Dynes curriculum transformation process, Green (1989) broadens the use of curriculum transformation stages to apply to diversity more generally. Curriculum transformation stages, or levels, suggest a process that the curriculum moves through with information and knowledge gained at each stage being used to transform the curriculum into the next phase (Schuster & Van Dyne, 1985). It is expected that curriculum changes occur over time and progress through various stages in such a change (Green, 1989). As summarized in our previous work (Gordy & Pritchard, 1995), Banks (1993) model to assess the level of integration of ethnic content in curriculum includes four levels:
1. contributions approach 2. additive approach 3. transformative approach 4. decision making and social participation approach.

of the stages outlined in the earlier curriculum transformation models (Green, 1989; Schuster & Van Dyne, 1985), yet they are more easily applicable to the study of textbook content rather than to the study of an entire curriculum. We adapted this model of ethnic content to focus on the level of integration of women into the textbooks. In Level 1 (Banks, 1993) (the contributions approach) famous people, holidays, and cultural events related to women are included in the curriculum without changing its basic structure. In this level, or phase, Green (1989) claims that only superstar minority or female figures (p. 149) are included and are still measured by the predominant male model standards. Often as presented in school curriculum, the contributions approach defines women as peripheral to the main story or merely appendages to the central features of the curriculum. Level 2 (the additive approach) makes more steps to inclusion by not only adding famous people and events but also discussing key concepts and themes that are relevant to the experiences of women. At this level, the curriculum is broadening in terms of issues mentioned, but not in terms of the structure of presentation. Level 3 (the transformative approach in the multiculturalism process) moves the curriculum from the basic assumptions underlying the mainstream presentation and shifts the center of analysis from the core to the periphery. Schuster and Van Dyne (1985) claim that in this stage, women are studied on their own terms. This level allows for an explanation of how U.S. history developed based on the interaction of diverse groups by presenting concepts and themes from diverse perspectives (Banks, 1993). The decision making and social participation level (Level 4) includes all of the elements of the transformative level, and adds decision-making and critical thinking skills. These skills are important not only in terms of education in general, but also in terms of communicating with a diversity of people. According to Vold (1989), critical thinking is absolutely necessary to improve such social ills in America as racism, ethnocentrism, classism, and sexism (p. 128). These four levels are used to assess the presentation of World War II in high school textbooks.

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Females and Curriculum Content

Previous literature indicates that women are mentioned in texts, but the amount, type, and extent of such coverage is not inclusive. Sadker and Sadker (1994) claim that in one U.S. history text (Boorstin & Kelley, 1992, see Appendix B for a list & textbooks reviewed for this study), there are four males for every female represented and that less than 3% of the history is about women. Furthermore, they found that only 11 female

These levels are used to assess the content of the textbook curriculum in this study. These levels parallel many

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names were mentioned and not a single American adult woman was included (p. 72). Based on a content analysis of secondary school science texts, Bazler and Simonis (1990) concluded that the majority of the drawings were of male figures and that not a single female scientist was pictured. In other words, women are either invisible or presented in a stereotypical manner. In a 1998 study, the American Association of University Women found that in math software that had gender identifiable characters, only 12% of the characters were females. The female characters were presented in passive roles and limited to the role of mother or princess. According to Ruth (1997), textbooks treat women as an appendage or anomaly not readily understood within the general context of the inquiry (p. 2). According to Holt (1990), the coverage of females in textbooks improved in the 1980s; however, females were still at the margins of the texts. Such an approach reinforces ideas in children, witnessed by Sadker and Sadker (1994), that women have not made history, or have not done anything worthy of inclusion in history books. Given students limited knowledge of how gender inequality in the larger society shapes the politics surrounding textbook publishing, the lack of a more comprehensive history could lead children to underestimate womens contributions to society. As Tavris (1992) explains, the male normative model has three potential consequences: if males are the norm, then females are either less than males, the same as males, or better than males. If females are not discussed in history texts, then students are likely to come to the first or second conclusion. Given Sadker and Sadkers (1994) research, it appears that students arrive at the first conclusion; that females are less than males. Without learning womens history, many students will have little knowledge of the similarities and differences between female and male experiences as well as of womens contributions to American society. Based on their research, Garcia and Woodrick (1979) contend that more needs to be done to provide an accurate depiction of both white and women of color in the texts. In fact, Guy-Sheftall and Bell-Scott (1989) suggest, The study of Black women also renders invalid many of the generalizations that abound in the historiography of American women (p. 216). With such an inaccurate portrayal of womens experiences, mens or white womens experiences are assumed to be universal. This can be problematic not only in terms of ones knowledge base, but also in terms of ones acceptance of stereotypes. As Lorde (1998) said, It is not our differences which separate women, but our reluctance to recognize those differences and to deal effectively with the distortions which have resulted from the ignoring and misnaming of these differences (p. 194). Not distinguishing between white and African American womens experiences assumes that such experiences are indistin-

guishable or that the white womens experience is more valid.

Females and World War II

World War II was an important time period because of its impact on changing meanings and opportunities associated with females; ultimately, it helped shape the Womens Movement of the 1970s (Gabin, 1985). The factors influencing these changes and the impact of such changes are important for understanding U.S. history, and U.S. womens history specifically. With such a foundation of womens changing roles during WWII, high school students are provided with a better understanding of history as well as a better understanding of gender and how it is constructed over time. During WWII several significant changes took place in the American labor market, beginning with an increase in womens participation in the labor market. This increase was most apparent for married women (Kessler-Harris, 1982). Despite racial discrimination, African American women entered into new positions previously denied to them (Meyer, 1996). As more women entered into skilled trade positions, the number of female trade union members increased from 9% to 22% by 1944 (KesslerHarris, 1982). Such changes in womens labor force participation during WWII had a tremendous impact on the Civil Rights Movement and the Feminist Movement of the 1950s and 1960s (Gabin, 1985; Meyer, 1986). For example, womens resistance and work within the United Auto Workers (UAW) influenced the later endorsement of the Equal Rights Amendment by the UAW (Gabin, 1985). Womens increased opportunities in the labor force planted the seeds for broader societal level changes. Such changes were never the intention of the military, government, and corporate leaders who persuaded women into new areas within the labor force. Analysis of this time period shows how quickly images [of women] can change when the media, government, and industry mobilized to accomplish a goal (Honey, 1984, p. 211). There was a propaganda effort to encourage women to enter the labor force for the good of the country. Major newspapers and magazines depicted employed women during this time period as the self sacrificing patriot who would return to traditional female concerns at the end of the war (Honey, 1984, p. 184). Even though the images of women during this time were increasingly positive and less stereotypical, these changes were limited to white women (Honey, 1984). In fact, not only was there little positive change in the images depicted of African American women in the media, the labor market changes for African American women also were limited. The Womens Auxiliary Corps (WAC), in an effort to present themselves as an organization of white middle class women, kept African American women in lower level positions and limited their leadership positions to

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all Black units (Meyer, 1996). Images of African American women and the realities of their experiences reveal important differences between white and African American women. The propaganda effort not only encouraged women to take new labor market positions during the war but also to leave such positions after the war. The strength of the propaganda campaign to get women out of the workforce reflects the extent to which perceptions of family needs still governed womens work, paid or unpaid (Kessler-Harris, 1982, p. 299). Women were encouraged to return to family responsibilities and return their positions in the labor market to men. Many women were pushed out of their jobs, and the barriers to employment after the war were higher for African American women (Kessler-Harris, 1982). Many women resisted losing their improved status in the workforce (Honey, 1984). Since women did not eagerly leave the labor market, the notion of the primacy of family for women increasingly began to be challenged. Such challenges demonstrate the importance of seeing history from multiple perspectives. Despite scholarship in womens studies and black womens studies, the previous research on the content of textbooks suggests that this scholarship has not been used to present a diverse view of history. Our study is intended to assess contemporary texts for the integration of such scholarship, and if efforts have been made to provide students with a more accurate and representative view of U.S. history. We focus on a specific time period to allow for a more in-depth evaluation of the type of history that is presented to students. We also focus specifically on African American and white womens coverage for two main reasons: (1) preliminary review of the texts suggested that even the most inclusive texts made little to no effort to incorporate other racial minority women besides African Americans and (2) the depth of scholarship available on African American women is more extensive and more readily accessible to textbook authors and publishers. Instead of just counting how much space is given to white and African American women, we evaluate the type of coverage presented.

METHODOLOGY
This research is based on a content analysis of the presentation of World War II in high school history textbooks used in Connecticut during the 19992000 school year. Our research question considers the following: To what extent do United States history textbooks include both the history and herstory of World War II? Connecticut was selected for study for two reasons: Connecticut has a statute that requires the use of gender- and raciallyfair textbooks and school districts have local control of textbook selection. Given the statute, we predicted we would have a better chance of obtaining those textbooks that are more inclusive of racial minorities and women.

The local control of textbook selection produced a variety of texts. In order to form a list of the history textbooks used in Connecticut high schools, letters requesting titles in current use were sent to all school districts. With 63 responses (53% of the districts contacted), we developed a list of approximately 48 textbooks being used in the state. Many districts reported using more than one textbook for different grades or academic levels. Several districts reported using the same textbook, but different editions. Thirteen texts were chosen for examination because they were available for review and are used by at least two districts, which might best reflect texts commonly chosen by other towns and states. Our sample includes ten of the major textbook publishers in terms of mainstream use of such publishers in schools across the U.S. After we collected our sample, we attempted to contact textbook publishers to ask if they had any texts that they would like us to review. All solicitations of textbook publishers were unsuccessful. We conducted a pilot investigation of two texts to ensure that we were in agreement about the important issues relating to women in World War II, and that we were consistent in our coding. To investigate the presentation of women in World War II, chapters of the texts devoted to World War II were coded for their thematic content. To assess the texts for their level of multiculturalism, a scale designed by Banks (1993) was used. This scale, as with other curriculum transformation models (Green, 1989; Schuster & Van Dyne, 1985), allows us to move beyond merely counting inclusion of women to assess and analyze a texts degree of inclusive history. Texts that mention the work of famous women or famous female organizations and groups in the presentation of World War II are coded as reaching the contributions approach (Level 1) of integration. For example, texts that mention famous organizations such as the Womens Auxiliary Corps are coded as having reached Level 1. Texts that reach Level l mention females or organizations briefly, but do not discuss their significance or present their point of view. Texts coded as Level 2 discuss the significance of women in terms of the issues and struggles they faced. Authors include key issues related to womens experiences during World War II, such as the inequities women faced in the military and in the defense industries. These texts are coded as having reached the additive level (Level 2) of integration because they give a more detailed and complete description of the lives of women during World War II. However, textbooks at Level 2 present these issues from a male perspective based on a male normative model of history. In other words, a description of the experiences of women during World War II has been added, but no discussion is offered as to the significance of such experiences. In the transformation level (Level 3), history is presented so that students are able to look critically at

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information. For instance, texts are coded as Level 3 if they present the views of women of different racial and ethnic groups related to work issues, as well as the perspectives of men who worked with them. This level in the multiculturalism process incorporates the previous three levels, and includes critical thinking skills. For example, students may be asked to evaluate whether the opportunities that opened up for women during World War II would have developed if the United States had not entered the war. Students may be asked to evaluate the assumptions underlying the government and medias role in recruiting women into employment during World War II. Authors who continually encourage students to process, reflect upon, evaluate, or assess the information presented are coded as reaching Level 4. Such critical thinking materials should be included in the major part of the text rather than as an appendage at the end of the chapter.

RESULTS
The initial assessment of the texts revealed common themes pertaining to women in World War II. Authors focus their portrayal of women on three topics: women in the military, women and employment on the home front, and the demobilization of women. The themes were coded and evaluated using Banks (1993) scale. All 13 texts reach the contributions level (Level 1) for women, and five texts have progressed into the additive stage (Level 2) by discussing issues of inequality, such as women receiving less pay than men for the same work in factories and in the military, and the political and social pressure for women to leave their jobs after the war. Three of the texts contain elements of the transformation approach (Level 3) for women by providing their perspectives on gender issues and events of World War II. (Results of the coding are contained in Appendix A). Thus, 3 of the 13 texts have progressed to begin the transformation stage of curriculum change.

organization contracting with the Army Air Corps. Approximately 350,000 women served in the armed services during World War II. Four thousand of these women were African American, who served mainly in the WAC (Lunardini, 1994). Nine of the textbooks mention that women served in all capacities in the military, with the exception of combat. In these textbooks, coverage of women in the military is brief, nondescript, and peripheral to the main story. As authors of one text (Bailey, Cohen, & Kennedy, 1998) write, The armed services enlisted nearly 15 million men in World War IIand some 216,000 women, who were employed for non-combat duties. Best known of these women in arms were the WAAC (Army), WAVES (Navy), and SPARS (Coast Guard) (pp. 852 853). This text does not include the duties that women were assignedrather, it mentions what they were not doingengaging in combat. Thus, their reference to women in arms is confusing as it states that women did not carry arms. Seven of the texts mention the types of duties that women were assigned in the military branches. According to one text (Cayton, Israels, & Winkler, 1995):
Women worked as typists and clerks, but also as control tower operators, radio operators, parachute riggers, and mechanics. Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs) ferried planes around the country, and they towed targets for anti-aircraft gunnery practice missions as well (p. 679).

Women in the Military

Prior to World War II, women served in the military as nurses in the Army Nurse Corps and the Navy Nurse Corps. In 1942, the Womens Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) was created. The following year, WAAC was replaced with the Womens Army Corps (WAC), which gave women full military status. Other military branches soon followed suit: the Navy created WAVES (Women Accepted for the Volunteer Emergency Service) in 1942, the U.S. Coast Guard established SPARS (Semper Paratus Always Ready) in 1943, and the Marines created a womens corps in 1943, as well. The WASPs (Women Air Force Service Pilots), established in 1942, was not considered a military organization, but a civilian

Six of the texts omit this information, leaving readers uninformed as to what role women played in military service and the significance of these non-combat roles. None of the textbook authors provide an explanation or analysis of why women did not serve in combat roles, although one text does imply that this was discrimination. According to that text (Nash & Jeffrey, 1998), Women were explicitly kept out of combat situations and were often underused by male officers who found it difficult to view women in nontraditional roles (p. 897). It does not go on to discuss why women were banned from combat roles, or that they suffered discrimination. Readers may be left with the impression that women were not allowed to serve in combat roles because they were incapable or that women did not want to serve in these roles. Without discussing these barriers, students may be led to believe that females either were not interested in top level positions or did not have the skills to fill such positions. The emphasis on combat roles and the lack of a discussion of womens barriers to combat roles further diminishes the importance of women in the war effort. According to Williams (1997), womens participation in the war efforts, at all levels, was framed in terms of support for fighting men. The roles women played in the war effort were described in relationship to men (Tavris, 1992),

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not as significant roles in and of themselves. By devoting several pages to battles and combat regiments who received medals and honor for their heroics, the texts framed such activity as highly significant. Given this and the lack of an explanation for why women did not have combat roles, the texts further minimize the contributions women made to the war by making them seem less significant or less heroic. Only three of the authors mention that women faced discrimination in the military during World War II. As one text (Armitage, Buhle, Czitrom, & Faragher, 1994) observes:
The government feared the spread of immorality among women in the armed forces and closely monitored their conduct . . . they advised women to avoid drinking in public and to abstain from sexually promiscuous behavior. The Marine Corps even used intelligence officers to ferret out suspected lesbians or those women who merely showed homosexual tendencies. Homosexuality, whether in act or appearance, was cause for dishonorable discharge (p. 802).

states, The womens corps adherence to Army segregation rulings and its employment of African American women in racially stereotyped jobs made distinctions in terms of status between Black women and their White counterparts (p. 7). Later, the same text explains that African Americans suffered discrimination in the armed services, but offers only male soldiers as examples. Another text (Boyer, 1998) reports:
About a million Black soldiers served in the armed forces, including several thousand women in the Womens Auxiliary Army Corps. However, despite their protests, African Americans continued to serve in segregated units and until 1943 were kept out of combat (p. 756).

These authors discuss an aspect of the discrimination, yet do not attempt to discuss the reasons. In an effort to uphold moral standards, WAC leaders wanted to keep out promiscuous heterosexual women and lesbians (Meyer, 1996). In a story told by Mattie Treadwell, official historian of the WAAC, one inspector general suggested that African American WAACs be brought to one air base to provide recreation for the African American male soldiers. Williams (1997) argues that this example suggests that the militarys expectation that women play a feminine support role extended into their private lives as well. In addition, it reveals the double standard of sexuality for females and males. In other words, male soldiers were expected to have their sexual needs met and female soldiers were expected to abstain from sexually promiscuous behavior unless it was government sanctioned and of service to men. Nine of the texts omit the fact that African American women served in the military. They could not be found in the texts discussions of women or African Americans, a none-too-subtle reminder of the gender and racial discrimination that African American women face in our society. When discussing womens experiences, white women become the implicit norm and thus, the examples are all of white women (Hull, Scott, & Smith, 1982). One text (Berkin et al., 1995), states, The war brought new opportunities for women, as well as for African Americans. More than 250,000 women joined the military forces in non-combat positions and millions of women entered the workforce (p. 653). This text, as well as others, does not distinguish between the experiences of white women and African American women in the military, although they were clearly different. As historian Meyer (1996)

The texts reference to African Americans in the second sentence clearly refers to men, as women were never allowed in combat. In this text, women are on the sidelines, an afterthought, in a sentence meant to describe the African American experience. Such a presentation creates misconceptions about history when the sex and race of individuals are not specified. Furthermore, it can reinforce divisions between groups when, as Lorde (1998) argues, differences are ignored or misnamed. This is an example of how textbooks continue to present all women in supportive roles to men and make assumptions that African Americans are men. While the text mentions that a million African American men served in the military, it tells us that a much smaller number of women served with the WACs. It does not tell us why, again furthering the image that women were less involved in the war effort because they chose not to be, not because of social factors. In reality, African American women had fewer opportunities to enlist (Meyer, 1996). A few texts mention the discrimination white women faced in the military during World War II, which demonstrates an effort to explain issues from diverse perspectives. However, the presentation is descriptive, and not analytical, which prevents opportunities for students to critically assess this history. Furthermore, it makes gender differences seem natural, rather than as a result of social factors and cultural barriers for females, particularly African American females.

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Employment and Demobilization

All of the textbooks discuss womens increasing numbers in the workforce during World War II. Yet only four texts discuss the governments propaganda campaign, which encouraged older, married women into the workforce. Discussing the governments propaganda campaign would illustrate that changes took place due to social factors and societal shifts, not personal factors (Honey, 1984). Many texts (10) do mention Rosie the Riveter, a propaganda image the government used to attract women to the factories and keep women in their

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traditional roles, while serving temporarily in nontraditional work. As one text (Bragdon, McCutchen, & Ritchie, 1996) states:
The government, newspapers, radio, and newsreels encouraged women to take factory jobs as a patriotic duty, and 5 million American women entered the workforce during the war. Rosie the Riveter . . . became a national symbol of the vital contribution women were making to the war effort (p. 830).

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This does not tell the whole story. While it is true that women were encouraged to take jobs as a patriotic duty, many women worked and wanted to keep working when the war was over for many reasons, among them financial necessity and self-fulfillment (KesslerHarris, 1982). Four of the textbooks report that prior to World War II, most people thought that married women should not work outside the home. (By the end of the war, married employed women outnumbered single employed women.) These texts make an important point about societys expectations of women and how successful the propaganda campaign actually was in luring women into the workforce. By not analyzing this, nine of the texts do not lay the foundation for understanding the societal changes for women and that these changes varied for women of different races and classes (Honey, 1984). Further, it was acceptable for married women to work as helpers only for the duration of the war. The majority of the texts do not make this clear. As Goodwin (1994) points out:
In the ads directed at housewives, the temporary nature of the job was stressed, the idea being that women would come into the factories during the war, and then go back home as soon as it was over. A women is a substitute, one War Department brochure claimed, like plastic instead of metal (p. 413).

ended (p. 757). The text presents the loss of jobs in a passive voiceit does not explain why women lost their jobs or that many women wanted or needed to continue working. As Bragdon et al. (1996) point out, Although at first most women considered their new employment to be temporary, by the wars end, 80% said they wanted to keep their jobs (p. 830). This text provides some description of womens perspective. According to Milkman (1987), womens work during the war was viewed as temporary, and also a natural extension of their domestic role. Milkman suggests that labor was kept divided by gender roles so that factories could rehire the men without challenging sexual stereotypes. Some factory managers went as far as tormenting women into resigning their jobs by giving them the graveyard shift, closing down daycare center in the factories, and transferring female employees to other factory locations (Goodwin, 1994). Most texts do not convey the enormous pressure on women to leave their jobs. The reviewed texts do not discuss how demobilization was different for African American women since, as one text reports, 90% of African Americans working at the end of the war had been working prior to the war. Yet the differences in the type of paid work is not explored or analyzed. Within the Army Corps, African American women were relegated to the lower two grades (Meyer, 1996). New opportunities were opened for African American women, but the degree of such opportunities was less than for white women. During the war, African American women were able to leave their low-paying domestic jobs for factory work where they were paid higher wages and, eventually, had union support. Generalizations made from white womens experiences to African American womens experiencesmany of which would be invaliddistort African American womens history (Guy-Sheftall & Bell-Scott, 1987).

Family Responsibilities
Several texts discuss the propaganda campaigns efforts to bring women into the workforce; few discuss the efforts to send women back home. Five of the texts report that many more women than men lost factory jobs during demobilization, and four mention that women were expected to leave their jobs after the war. As one text (Armitage et al., 1994) reports:
As early as 1943 some industries had begun to design plans for laying off women as war production wound down. With jobs reserved for returning veterans, women in industry saw their numbers rapidly diminish; as many as 4 million lost their jobs between 1944 and 1946 (p. 809).

One text (Danzer, Klor de Alva, Wilson, & Woloch, 1998) reports, Women also enjoyed employment gains during the war, although many lost their jobs when the war

The textbooks in the study largely omit the issues that were central to womens work experiences. Four of the texts mention that prior to the war working women struggled to find childcare and that daycare was scarce. This is important to include this for two reasons: first, it shows the governments meager efforts to establish daycare when female employees were needed for the political economy (Kessler-Harris, 1982); and second, it shows the additional barrier of securing childcare, which is often placed primarily on women. Both of these issues have historical significance in understanding the war effort and the complexity of womens employment. In other words, the war did not just involve the battles fought and medals won, as a male normative model of history would imply; it also involved making the weapons and sustaining the U.S. economy. To do so involved recruiting more

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mothers into the workforce, which meant an increased need for childcare. Furthermore, by understanding such history it allows us to view current debates over mothers employment and government subsidized or government provided childcare. Texts that do mention that the government set up daycare centers neglect to report that these childcare centers were underfunded and geared towards employers needs, not mothers (Kessler-Harris, 1982, p. 295). As one text (Bailey et al., 1998) states of working women:
Many of them were mothers, and the government was obliged to set up some 3,000 daycare centers to care for Rosie the Riveters children while she drilled the fuselage of a heavy bomber or joined the links of a tank track (p. 853).
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This passage is misleading because it does not say that the 3,000 daycare centers, created in 1944, fell far short of womens needs. In addition, the passage again refers to the fictional symbol with no real womens needs attached to it. Married women with children were often sent mixed messages. As Nash and Jeffreys (1998) text points out, Women were often informed that they should be at home with their children (p. 894). Eleanor Roosevelt believed that if women were being asked to work, then the government should help women meet their home responsibilities by providing daycare, organizing community laundries, and enlisting restaurants to provide take-out meals (Goodwin, 1994). When the absentee rate for women sky-rocketed in 1943, the Womens Bureau argued that womens obligations at home, such as shopping, cooking, cleaning, and childcare, along with working a full-time job, were causing these absences (Goodwin, 1994). None of the texts link the challenge women faced in balancing home and employment during this time, with the same struggle women face today. Without such knowledge provided in secondary schools (where most students learn history), people will continue to make ahistorical arguments about mothers employment needs and experiences.

Workplace Discrimination
Since most texts do not mention the work experiences of minority women during the war, African American women are doubly ignored. The combination of racial and gender barriers African American women faced, as well as the relationship between such barriers that is so central to understanding African American womens history, is ignored by most of the texts (Collins, 1990). Two of the texts report that African American women suffered discrimination in the workplace, and only one points out that African American women fought discrimination with protests and lawsuits. As one text (Danzer et al., 1998) reports, Before the war, 75 percent of defense

contractors simply refused to hire African Americans, while another 15 percent employed them only in menial jobs (p. 733). The text does not distinguish between African American men and African American women. However, African American womens experiences were unique. In fact, although the number of working women increased, as one text (Armitage et al., 1994) reports, The employment rate changed comparatively little for African American women. . . . Of the Black women employed at the close of the war, fully 90% had been in the labor force in 1940 (p. 809). In many cases, African American women were given the most dangerous jobs, such as those involving ammunition and gunpowder (Goodwin, 1994). In addition, much of the prejudice they encountered came from the white women with whom they worked at the factories (Goodwin, 1994). It is vital that texts not only discuss discrimination but also provide examples of how people fought discrimination, sometimes succeeding and sometimes not, because such a discussion provides a more complete perspective of history. For example, African American women used work strikes when discriminated against in terms of job assignments (Meyer, 1996, p. 97). In other words, issues of discrimination were not simply solved by themselves; people fought the industries that discriminated against them. Five of the texts report that women earned significantly less than men doing the same jobs. As one text, Cayton et al. (1995) points out, Although the National War Labor Board declared in the fall of 1942, that women who performed work of the same quality and quantity as men should receive equal pay, the policy was often ignored (p. 703). African American women often earned less than white women and were last hired, first fired (Hine & Thompson, 1998). Such issues are important for providing an historical framework for current discussions of the wage gap between females and males and African American females and white females. Most of the texts do not mention that women earned less or do not adequately discuss the issue. As one text (Danzer et al., 1998) states, Once women proved they could wield a welding torch or a riveting gun as well as men, employers could not hire enough of them especially since women earned only about 60% as much as men doing the same jobs (p. 733). The texts do not clarify that women did not earn 60% less than men; they were paid 60% less than men by their employers in the factories. Further, the texts do not explain why women were paid less than men or that it was discrimination. The overall discussion of employment, demobilization, and workplace discrimination lacks an explanation of the causes and consequences of such events and how these varied by race. It assumes that white womens experiences are the norm from which we can understand all womens history. Neglecting to discuss this reflects the

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authors and publishers failure to restructure the texts so that historical events surrounding World War II can be viewed from the perspectives of both African American and white women.

Textbooks Level of Multiculturalism Inclusion

Using Banks (1993) scale, all texts reached the contributions stage (Level 1) for white women during World War II. Consistent with what previous studies (Bazler & Simonis, 1990; Ruth, 1997; Sadker & Sadker, 1994) suggest, these texts include women, yet the type of coverage is very limited. However, only six of the texts provide any description of womens wartime experiences and just four analyze issues of inequality, such as discrimination in the military, childcare, and other barriers for womens employment. Additionally, only four of the texts include the tremendous political and media effort to force women out of their factory jobs when the war was over. Given that all of the textbooks include women and devote part of the main sections to women, women are not at the margins of the texts as Holt (1990) suggests but rather are still trivialized within the main story. Women are included, but are still seen as a special case at this stage in the curriculum process (Schuster & Van Dyne, 1985, p. 19). Such a narrow perspective on history is not only invalid but also can perpetuate stereotypical images of women. Furthermore, as our analysis suggests, African American women were rarely mentioned by most of the texts. According to Collins (1990), Maintaining the invisibility of Black women . . . is critical in structuring patterned relations of race, gender, and class inequality (p. 5). Consistent with earlier research (Irvine, 1990; Sleeter & Grant, 1991), ten of the texts in this study define the curriculum from a white male perspective. As Collins (1990) claims, Because elite white men and their representatives control structures of knowledge validation, white male interests pervade the thematic content of traditional scholarship (p. 201). Although Collins is referring more to traditional academic scholarship, it is clear from our research that the thematic content of these texts also largely centered on white male interests. Thus, the criteria by which greatness and excellence are defined remain unexamined (Schuster & Van Dyne, 1985, p. 19). These texts give readers little sense of women as active agents who create and make history. Few efforts are made at transforming the structure from the male normative model of history, that is, the war is discussed in terms of numbers of women who served in the military, medals for service, and military strategies. Thus, five texts have been transformed as far as the additive stage (Level 2) for women, and three have begun the process necessary to reach the transformative stage of curriculum change (Level 3).

Most of the texts do not even reach the contributions stage (Level 1) for African American women, with only three of the texts mentioning the role of African American women in the military. Since only two of the texts discuss African American womens experiences of discrimination in employment, their experiences are largely ignored. African American women remain the invisible women in most texts presentation of WWII. The texts have not begun to search for the missing African American women in history, as is central to the start of curriculum transformation (Schuster & Van Dyne, 1985). Such scant attention to African American women is consistent with the idea that Guy-Sheftall and Bell-Scott (1989) set forththat black experiences are presented from a male perspective and womens experiences are presented from a white womans perspective. African American women had different factory jobs (Goodwin, 1994) than white women and had different experiences with demobilization given their previous employment restrictions. In addition, African American women were very active in challenging inequality during this time period (Lerner, 1972). The lack of coverage of these issues fails to provide students with a framework for understanding the resistance efforts of the developing Civil Rights Movement in which African American women were involved (Meyer, 1996). Overall, many of the texts have reached the contributions stage for women. An effort has been made to recognize the existence of white womens experiences during World War II. However, most of the texts have merely modified their framework by adding in contributions and occasionally, issues of concern to women. There are a few texts that do provide an example of a more inclusive history. Out of Many (Armitage et al., 1994) and The American People (Nash & Jeffery, 1998) had elements of Level 3, but did not fully reach Level 3 or 4. These texts integrated material on women better than the others. For example, in a section entitled, Women in Uniform, the authors of The American People state, Still men and women were not treated equally. Women were explicitly kept out of combat situations and were often underused by male officers who found it difficult to view women in more traditional roles (p. 897). This same text also presents a positive and yet realistic portrayal of the societal impact of the presence of womens soldiers. Nash and Jeffrey (1998) state:
[T]he women in the service did not permanently alter the military or the publics perception of womens proper role, but they did change a few minds, and many of the women who served had their lives changed and horizons broadened (p. 897).

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This passage demonstrates this texts ability to identify discrimination for women as well as to identify

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the impact from the womens perspective themselves. The authors also view change in a broader light not just from the perspective of the military or the war efforts, but the everyday lives of women. Unfortunately, these texts were used by only 3% of our sample districts. The impact of racism and sexism is not fully addressed by any of the texts. Discrimination in the case of the gender gap in pay is presented, yet the causes and consequences of this discrimination are not explored. Students are not provided with a full understanding of social inequality or with a view of womens active role throughout history. Thus, very few texts provide the type of multicultural education, that Pang (1991) suggests students need. Furthermore, the history of World War II reveals a lot about gender in terms of changing social meanings and unequal power relationships between groups (West & Zimmerman, 1987). As Honey (1984) claims, the media images of women are dependent upon economic and political structures (p. 215). Such images serve both to reflect and to create cultural meanings attached to women. New meanings were created to serve a particular economic and political end both during and after WWII. This provides further evidence that gender is not rigid and that assumptions often made today about womens roles are not completely historically accurate. World War II was a pivotal time in the history of women in terms of increased opportunities and increased resistance to inequality in society. For students to have a full understanding of the political and social changes of the late 1950s and 1960s, they need to have knowledge about women in World War II.

CONCLUSION
Scholars of womens studies and African American studies have long argued that history texts ignore or downplay the contributions of all women to U.S. history and in doing so, reproduce unequal power relations in society. In our research, we found that all of the high school texts in our sample made an effort to include contributions of some women and thus, such groups were not ignored entirely. Yet, much of the coverage downplays womens contributions during World War II, particularly those by African American women. Given the extensive amount of information available on women during World War II and the ability to include such information without significantly lengthening the coverage, textbook authors should make more of an effort to provide a more complete and inclusive view of history. Or as Green (1989) claims, [N]ew scholarship cannot be excluded from the curriculum (p. 149). History is important for students to know as an end in itself, but also as a means to providing a context

for their own lives and current social issues. Students need a complete picture of the war to understand World War II as well as to understand female and male current military roles, employment opportunities, and family experiences. In addition to carefully selecting the textbooks for their degree of inclusiveness, teachers could use materials to supplement the missing history from the texts. An excellent resource for teachers is the National Womens History Project (www.nwhp.org). The project offers training for history teachers, curriculum materials, and class based assignment suggestions. The primary focus of this project is to help K-12 students and teachers offer a multicultural history inclusive of women. Thus, materials are available for teachers as well as for students in various age groups. Ultimately, textbook authors should aim to provide a truly inclusive curriculum that gives agency to both the subjects of history and the readers of history. Until that happens, supplemental materials, such as those available from the National Womens History Project, can fill the void. Texts can appear to be inclusive by presenting womens military service and the increase in womens employment, and appear to be objective by using passive terms and not using terms such as racism or sexism. Failing to discuss such inequality distorts and limits an understanding of history. Such objectivity reproduces and normalizes the white male view of history. Thus, the texts standpoint, a white male perspective, is neither noted nor made visible. Multicultural education entails not only viewing history from diverse standpoints but also active and critical involvement of students in the learning of history. Given the centrality of textbooks to students educational process (Banks, 1993; Holt, 1990), they too should reflect a multicultural perspective so that students better understand history and herstory of World War II. Although the texts in this sample have made efforts to begin curriculum transformation and present a multicultural curriculum they are stalled in the additive stage of inclusion (Level 2).

REFERENCES
American Association of University Women. (1998). Gender gaps: Where schools still fail our children. Washington, DC: Author. Apple, M. W. (1990). Ideology and curriculum (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. Baker, G. C. (1979). Policy issues in multicultural education in the United States. Journal of Negro Education, 48(3), 253266. Banks, J. A. (1993). Approaches to multicultural curriculum reform. In J. A. Banks & C. A. McGee Banks (Eds.), Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives (2nd ed., pp. 195214). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

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Banks, J. A. (1994). An introduction to multicultural education. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Bazler, J. A., & Simonis, D. A. (1990). Are women out of the picture? Sex discrimination in science texts. Science Teacher, 57(9), 24. Boorstin, D. J., & Kelley, B. M. (1992). A history of the United States. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Collins, P. H. (1990). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Boston: Unwin Hyman. Gabin, N. (1985). Women and the United Automobile Workers union in the 1950s. In R. Milkman (Ed.), Women, work and protest: A century of U.S. womens labor history (pp. 259279). New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Garcia, J., & Woodrick, C. S. (1979). The treatment of white and non-white women in U.S. textbooks. Clearing House, 53(1), 1722. Goodwin, D. K. (1994). No ordinary time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The home front in World War II. New York: Simon & Schuster. Gordy, L. L., & Pritchard, A. M. (1995). Redirecting our voyage through history: A content analysis of social studies textbooks. Urban Education, 30(2), 195218. Green, M. F. (Ed.). (1989). Minorities on campus: A handbook for enhancing diversity. Washington, DC: American Council on Education. Guy-Sheftall, B., & Bell-Scott, P. B. (1989). Black womens studies: A view from the margin. In C. S. Pearson, D. L. Shavlik, & J. G. Touchton (Eds.), Educating the majority: Women challenge tradition in higher education (pp. 205 218). New York: MacMillan. Hine, D. C., & Thompson, K. (1998). A shining thread of hope: The history of black women in America. New York: Broadway Books. Holt, E. (1990). Remember the ladies: Women in the curriculum. Washington, DC: Office of Education Research and Improvement. Honey, M. (1984). Creating Rosie the Riveter: Class, gender and propaganda during WWII. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press. Hooks, B. (2000). Feminism is for everybody: Passionate politics. Boston: South End. Hull, G. T., Scott, P. B., & Smith, B. (Eds.). (1982). All the women are white, all the Blacks are men, but some of us are brave: Black womens studies. Old Westbury, NY: Feminist Press. Irvine, J. J. (1990). Black students and school failure: Policies, practices, and prescriptions. New York: Greenwood. Kessler-Harris, A. (1982). Out to work: A history of wage-earning women in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press. Kimmel, M. S. (2000). The gendered classroom. In M. S. Kimmel (Ed.), The gendered society reader (p. 209255). New York: Oxford University Press. Lee, V. E., Marks, H. M., & Byrd, T. (1994). Sexism in single-sex and coeducational independent secondary school classrooms. Sociology of Education, 67(2), 92 120.

Lerner, G. (1972). Black women in White America: A documentary history. New York: Vintage Books. Lorde, A. (1998). Age, race, class, and sex: Women redefining difference. In M. L. Anderson & P. H. Collins (Eds.), Race, class and gender: An anthology (3rd ed., pp. 187 195). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Lunardini, C. (1994). What every American should know about womens history: 200 events that shaped our destiny. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media. Meyer, L. D. (1996). Creating GI Jane: Sexuality and power in the Womens Army Corps during World War II. New York: Columbia University Press. Milkman, R. (1987). Gender at work: The dynamics of job segregation by sex during World War II. Chicago: University of Illinois Press. The National Womens History Project. www.nwhp.org Pang, V. O. (1991). Teaching children about social issues: Kidpower. In C. E. Sleeter (Ed.), Empowerment through multicultural education (pp. 179197). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Rich, A. (1977). Claiming an education. In A. Kesselman, L. D. McNair, & N. Schniedewinde (Eds.), Women images and realities: A multicultural anthology second edition (pp. 1820). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield. Ruth, S. (1997). An introduction to womens studies. In S. Ruth (Ed.), Issues in feminism: An introduction to womens studies (4th ed., pp. 119). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield. Sadker, M., & Sadker, D. (1994). Failing at fairness: How Americas schools cheat girls. New York: Charles Scribners Sons. Schuster, M. R., & Van Dyne, S. R. (1985). Stages of curriculum transformation. In M. R. Schuster & S. R. Van Dyne (Eds.), Womens place in the academy: Transforming the liberal arts curriculum (pp. 1329). Totowa, NJ: Rowman & Allenheld. Sleeter, C. E., & Grant, C. A. (1987). An analysis of multicultural education in the United States. Harvard Educational Review, 57(4), 421444. Sleeter, C. E., & Grant, C. A. (1991). Race, class, gender, and disability in current textbooks. In M. W. Apple & L. K. Christian-Smith (Eds.), The politics of the textbook (pp. 78110). New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Spring, J. (2000). American education (9th ed.). Boston: McGrawHill. Takaki, R. (1993). Multiculturalism: Battleground or meeting ground? The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 530 (November), 109121. Tavris, C. (1992). The mismeasure of women. New York: Simon & Schuster. Vold, E. B. (1989). Critical thinking: Strategy for diversity. In H. Holtz, I. Marcus, J. Dougherty, J. Michaels, & R. Peduzzi (Eds.), Education and the American dream: Conservatives, liberals & radicals debate the future of education (pp. 124133). New York: Bergin & Garvey. West, C., & Zimmerman, D. H. (1987). Doing gender. Gender and Society, 1(2), 125151. Williams, C. (1997). Women in the military. (Online). Available: http://www.utexas.edu/admin/opa/discovery/ disc1997v14n2/discwomen.html

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APPENDIX A List of Textbooks in Sample

Armitage, S. F., Buhle, M. J., Czitrom, D., & Faragher, J. M. (1994). Out of many. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Bailey, T. A., Cohen, L., & Kennedy, D. M. (1998). The American pageant (11th ed.). Lexington, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Bailey, T. A., & Kennedy, D. M. (1994). The American pageant. Lexington, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Berkin, C., Brinkley, A., Carson, C., Chery, R. W., Divine, R. A., Foner, E., Morris, J. B., Wheeler, A., & Wood, L. (1995). American voices. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman. Boorstin, D. J., & Kelley, B. M. (1990). A history of the United States. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Boyer, P. (1998). The American nation. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston: Harcourt Brace & Company. Bragdon, H. W., McCutchen, S. P., & Ritchie, D. A. (1996). History of a free nation. New York: Glencoe, McGraw-Hill. Cayton, A., Israels, P. E., & Winkler, A. M. (1995). America pathways to the present. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Danzer, G. A., Klor de Alva, J. J., Wilson, L. E., & Woloch, N. (1998). The Americans. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell.

Davidson, J. W., & Lytle, M. H. (1990). The United States: A history of the republic. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. King, D. C., McRae, N., & Zola, J. (1995). The United States and its people. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley. Myers, P. J. (1999). United States history. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Globe Fearon. Nash, G. B., & Jeffery, J. R. (1998). The American people. New York: Addison Wesley Longman.

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Laurie L. Gordy, holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Connecticut. She is an associate professor of sociology at Daniel Webster College. Her research and teaching interests include issues of social inequality, education, and cultural representations of gender. Jennifer Hogan holds a M.A. in Education and is a former teacher of social studies. She has served as a researcher for the Connecticut Womens Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF). Alice Pritchard holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Connecticut and is currently the Executive Director of the Connecticut Womens Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF).

APPENDIX B Results of Content Analysis

Topic discussed Women enlisted in the military Women used in all areas of service, except combat WACS WAVES WASPS Womens duties in the military Discriminatory practices in the armed services African American women in the military Women in the workforce Prior to WWII, belief that women should not work outside of the home Women lled vacancies as men were drafted Women worked in manufacturing and defense industries Women were lured into workforce by advertising Rosie the riveter Women comprised one third of workforce Married women in workforce outnumbered single women Women struggled to nd childcare African American women faced race/gender discrimination African American women fought for equality Women faced discrimination and hostility from other workers Women earned less than men doing the same job More women lost jobs then men during demobilization Women were expected to leave jobs after the war Women continued to work after the war Number of textbooks describing the topic ( N = 13) 13 9 11 10 3 7 3 3 13 5 6 6 4 10 3 3 4 2 1 2 5 5 4 3