GENDERED PARTICIPATION AND VOICE IN AN ESL CLASSROOM: A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY OF FEMINIST PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES

Abstract

This study examined the application of the feminist critical pedagogy in a first-year ESL classroom with a particular focus on the impact of pedagogical practise on the gender of participation, voice, and agency. The objectives of the research include three points, to determine the feminist pedagogical strategies used in the classroom, to evaluate the effects of these strategies on the participation and interactions, and to understand the perceptions of female students towards empowerment and limitations. The qualitative case-study design was taken based on the theoretical framework of feminist critical pedagogy to pre-empt power, voice, and agency in the classroom interactions. Purposive sampling was used to select 15 students (8 women and 7 men) at a Pakistani public university. The data were gathered using classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, reflection journals, and teaching materials, and then explored using reflexive thematic analysis in order to find the patterns that remained constant across various sources of data. The results suggest that dialogic instruction, inclusive questioning, and co-operative learning increased participation and agency, but the success was determined by long-term mediation by the teacher and consideration of the sociocultural norms. The female students used strategic agency to cope with institutional and cultural restraints. The research suggests integrating reflexive and inclusive pedagogy, curriculum flexibility, and faculty development in power and engagement to facilitate equal education. The findings are empirically relevant to feminist pedagogy in ESL and serve as a source of information about both theory and practise.