Gender and Narrative Writing in Elementary Schools: A Qualitative Study Supporting Inclusive Education

Research design

The study uses a critical qualitative approach combined with a case study design, which is well-suited to exploring complex social phenomena embedded in specific contexts (Creswell & Poth, 2018; Yin, 2017). The case study method allows for an in-depth and holistic examination of the narrative writing practices of grade V students in their natural educational and cultural environments, allowing for rich and contextual understanding beyond quantitative measures.

The critical qualitative approach is based on an interpretive paradigm (Denzin & Lincoln, 2017). That emphasizes the understanding of participants’ life experiences and the social constructs that influence those experiences. More importantly, this approach integrates a critical lens to interrogate and challenge power relations, social inequality, and hegemonic norms, such as gender constructions, that underlie literacy practices. This means that this study not only illustrates differences in narrative styles but aims to uncover the sociocultural structures and gender-based power dynamics that shape these differences and influence educational equity. The study was conducted in a public elementary school in Indonesia in an urban environment in Karawang, where cultural norms influenced by traditional gender roles, such as boys as active adventurers and girls as relational caregivers, are still strong. This is in line with the policy of the Ministry of Education and Culture (2008), which issued regulations, Regulation of the Minister of National Education No. 84 of 2008, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Goal 4 and Goal 5 that support quality education and gender equality (Bappenas, 2019). In addition, the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2015–2025 policy focuses on improving gender equality in education, aiming to create equal opportunities for all students (Carolina, 2019). These factors contextualize how societal expectations can reinforce or challenge gender stereotypes in narratives, which in turn shapes student writing expressions with more inclusive and storytelling approaches that support gender equality.

Participants

This study used two primary data sources: 33 student narrative documents and interviews with 10 students. The 33 narrative documents were purposively selected to represent a diverse range of narrative writing styles, enabling an in-depth thematic analysis aligned with recommendations for small, purposive samples in qualitative educational research (Creswell & Poth, 2018; Patton, 2015).

From these 33 students, 10 were selected for semi-structured interviews using purposive sampling based on the presence of distinctive gendered writing patterns identified during document analysis. This purposive selection aimed to target participants who could provide rich, contextual insights about both the writing process and the influence of gender norms on their narratives. The choice of 10 interviewees was guided by the principle of data saturation, where no new themes emerged from additional interviews, ensuring a balance between depth of understanding and feasibility for detailed analysis. The representativeness of this subsample with regard to gender distribution (5 boys, 5 girls) also supports the validity of gender-focused comparisons.

To minimize the influence of confounding variables in gender-based interpretations, data on socio-economic status (SES) and home literacy environment were collected through a questionnaire of parents. The questionnaire instruments included indicators of parental education, parental work, number of books at home, frequency of reading activities, parental involvement in accompanying reading, access to the internet/devices, and participation in tutoring. This data allows contextualization of writing differences and helps control potential biases derived from socio-economic and environmental factors, which are known to affect children’s literacy development.

Based on the results of the questionnaire, the following characteristics of the participants were obtained:

Based on Table 1, the participants in this study were dominated by students from lower middle socio-economic backgrounds, with 63.6% in the Lower SES category and 27.3% in the Lower Secondary SES, while only 9.1% were included in the Upper Secondary SES and there were no students from the Upper SES category. Parents’ education mostly only reaches the elementary to high school level (94%), with father’s work dominated as farm laborers or factory workers (66.6%) and mother’s work as housewives (57.6%). The home literacy environment is also still limited, characterized by the ownership of books under 10 titles in 78.8% of students, low reading frequency (66.7% read less than 3 times per week), and lack of parental assistance in reading activities (75.8% rarely or never accompanied). This demographic condition provides an important context in understanding the results of students’ narrative writing, while at the same time emphasizing that any differences found between genders need to be analyzed by considering the limitations of this relatively homogeneous socio-economic background.

All participants belonged to a single Grade V class of a public elementary school in urban Karawang, Indonesia. Informed consent was obtained in writing from parents or legal guardians before data collection. The study purpose, procedures, potential risks, and voluntary nature of participation including the right to withdraw at any time were clearly explained. Verbal assent was obtained from child participants in accordance with ethical guidelines appropriate for their age and developmental stage which aligns with ethical guidelines from the Declaration of Helsinki and the American Psychological Association (2017).

Participation was entirely voluntary, with no coercion or penalties for those who chose not to participate. During data collection, students could request clarification on assignments but were not involved in post-collection data validation due to the written nature of the narrative. To maintain confidentiality and anonymity, all participants were assigned pseudonyms (e.g., Student M1 for male student 1, student F1 for female student 1), and no personally identifiable information such as real names or exact locations was disclosed in the analysis or reporting.

Data collection

The main instrument in this study was a narrative writing assignment. Students were asked to write a narrative story on the theme “Holiday Experience.” Instruction emphasized the development of a complete narrative structure, including an introduction, conflict, climax, and resolution. However, the focus was not only on technical quality but also on how the written narrative reflects self-representation, social relationships, and the influence of gender norms in their written expression.

The selection of the personal narrative assignment “Holiday Experience” was deliberate for several reasons. First, this theme is familiar and culturally relevant to Indonesian elementary school students, thus facilitating authentic self-expression and minimizing cultural bias. Second, for narrative evaluation, this study adopted the narrative assessment framework developed by Burhan Nurgiyantoro (an Indonesian linguist and literary expert), which is widely recognized in educational research in Indonesia. This instrument integrates narrative elements (plot, characterization, setting, point of view) with language use and writing conventions, enabling culturally sensitive and contextualized assessment of students’ narratives. The use of Nurgiyantoro’s framework ensures that the narrative analysis respects the linguistic and cultural narrative structures of Indonesia.

The categories for narrative analysis are detailed in Table 2, and cumulative scores across these categories yield a final grade for each student’s narrative writing. The following is a narrative writing assessment developed by (Nurgiyantoro, 2015).

In addition to the narrative writing assignment, interviews were conducted with 10 purposefully selected students to gain deeper insight into their writing process and perceptions of gender norms. Interviews were recorded using a smartphone recorder and then transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were anonymized using pseudonyms to protect participants’ privacy. To ensure data accuracy, the transcriptions were double-checked and verified by the researcher through thorough rereading of the audio and transcripts. Interview data were then coded to identify emerging themes related to students’ experiences in narrative writing and their awareness of the influence of gender on their expression.

Figure 1 shows the analysis process following a systematic analysis using a critical thematic approach.

Figure 1. Data analysis flowchart.

Figure 1 shows the analysis process following a systematic analysis using a critical thematic approach.

From the Table 2, the assessment of narrative writing ability using the formula:

From the calculation of the formula above, the value in each aspect is cumulative so that the final value in writing a narrative can be obtained. This category was chosen not only as a technical tool but also as a means of reading the patterns of ideological expression implied in children’s writing.

The next data collection was conducted by researchers using interviews with 10 selected students to provide deeper insight into their narrative writing process. The data collection process involves recording and transcribing the results of the interview. Each interview is recorded using an audio recorder on a smartphone device. After the interview is over, the researcher transcribes the audio recordings to ensure that the data obtained can be analyzed carefully and accurately.

This transcription is then used to identify themes that emerge in students’ conversations about their experiences in writing narratives, as well as how they perceive gender norms in their writing. All transcripts are required to be anonymized to protect the privacy of the participants, using pseudonyms or identifier codes that do not reveal personal information such as the participant’s real name or location. The transcription process is carefully carried out to ensure that no information is missed or misinterpreted. After the transcription is complete, the researcher also verifies by re-reading the results of the interview and transcription to ensure the accuracy of the data collected.

Data collection procedure

The data collection process was carried out for one week, from October 7 to October 12, 2024, with the task of writing a narrative given on October 3, 2024. Data collection was carried out by assigning narrative writing tasks to all students simultaneously in class for 60 minutes. Instruction is given orally and in writing to ensure students’ understanding of the assignment given. No changes were made to the planned procedures, as the original design had been adapted to the possible class conditions.

After the assignment is completed, the students’ writing is collected for further analysis. Handwriting is collected directly in the form of a physical document; there is no use of voice recorders or additional software during data collection. However, to obtain more in-depth data, interviews were conducted with 10 selected students to dig deeper into their experiences in writing narratives and their views on the influence of gender norms in their writing. Interviews are conducted in a structured manner with relevant questions to gain insight into the thinking process and students’ perspectives on research themes.

Data analysis

The data analysis process follows systematic steps as listed below.

Data were analyzed using a critical thematic approach based on (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Nowell, Norris, White, & Moules, 2017), which emphasizes identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns (themes) in qualitative data while critically examining power structures such as gender norms that influence narratives.

The analysis process began with open coding of all student narrative texts and interview transcripts, conducted manually without software. Through repeated and iterative reading, text segments were highlighted and labeled to capture meaningful units representing key aspects of narrative content, structure, language use, and gender expression.

To enhance transparency and replicability, the coding process followed a clear coding guide that included:

Operational definitions for each coding category, such as:

For Physical Action Orientation, an example coding might be:

“Student 1: ‘I like to write about playing soccer or swimming because that’s what I often do.’”

Coding: Physical Action Orientation (A).

For Emotional/Relational Orientation, a coding example might look like this:

“Student 6: ‘I like writing about my vacation experiences with my family because it makes me feel happy.’”

Coding: Emotional/Relational Orientation (E).

Concrete examples of coded text excerpts illustrating each category are provided as supplementary materials.

Decision rules that clarify ambiguous cases ensure consistency in coding. After open coding, codes were grouped into higher-level themes reflecting narrative styles and gender-related literacy practices. Comparative thematic analysis was conducted to explore specific patterns in male and female students’ narratives, including the potential marginalization of certain forms of expression.

To ensure analytical reliability, two independent coders separately coded portions of the data, and inter-rater agreement was evaluated using Cohen’s Kappa coefficient.

Furthermore, quantitative data in the form of the final score of narrative writing is tested for normality with appropriate tests (e.g. Shapiro-Wilk) to ensure the readiness of the data in undergoing parametric statistical tests. The selection of parametic statistical tests, especially the Independent Samples T-Test, was used as an attempt to test whether there was a statistically significant difference between male and female narrative scores.

However, it should be emphasized that this quantitative analysis is not the main goal of the study, but rather serves as a complement that reinforces and confirms the findings of qualitative analysis that are more in-depth and rich in social context. Thus, quantitative data is seen as part of data triangulation to answer complex research questions related to the influence of gender and social values in literacy practice.

Data triangulation was conducted by comparing narrative and interview findings with existing literature on children’s narratives and gender roles, such as research by Clarke, Marks, & Lykins (2016); Odağ (2013); Radina (2019). Furthermore, collaborative reading and discussion between multiple researchers helped minimize subjective bias in data interpretation and increased the credibility of the results (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Discussions between researchers were conducted to minimize subjective bias in data interpretation.

All handwritten narratives were transcribed into password-protected digital files and stored on a secure university server with two-factor authentication and encrypted backups, in accordance with Indonesian personal data protection law (Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 27 of 2022 on Personal Data Protection, 2022). Anonymity was ensured by immediately coding the data to de-identify and deleting copies of the raw files after analysis.

Ethical consideration

The research and community service institute of Universitas Buana Perjuangan Karawang has approved this research with the contract number: 062/LPPM/UBP/2025. The researcher gave a letter of approval has also been given by the researcher to all respondents. Written consent to participate from the respondent was obtained in accordance with document 400.3.5/110/SD/2025. Respondents gave their consent without force from anyone. Subsequently, in order to protect the rights and privacy of the respondents, all forms of data acquired will remain confidential.

Story content

Male student writing tends to feature an action-oriented narrative, with a focus on physical activities such as playing ball, swimming, and everyday activities (Anggraeni, Sunendar, & Cahyani, 2025a). Their stories show a linear, simple plot with a plot score of 2.4 and often without conflict or strong resolution. Characters in the story are only mentioned without character development or deep emotional expression, which is reflected in the characterization score of 2.0. The following is an example of the results of the narration writing of male students shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Male student narrative writing results (This visualization is based on the dataset available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.30353890.v1).

The writing of male students shows a tendency to construct stories based on repetitive and linear series of physical activities, as in the quote, “My sister and I were swimming. My sister and I played on slides. My sister and I bought sausages…” This plot does not show any climax, conflict, or emotional reflection. The narrative stops at reporting activities without depth of meaning. This reinforces the view that male narrative styles are formed to show ‘liveliness,’ not ‘feelings.’ The setting is used only as an action support, with no depiction of the atmosphere, which is reflected in the setting score of 2,5. This is a common pattern of male narratives that do not place value on an emotional or atmospheric setting. In addition, the narrative of male students shows that the representation of the figure of ‘me’ is only portrayed as a perpetrator of the activity, without reflection of feelings or relational involvement. This reflects the form of narrative shaped by masculinity norms that emphasize independence, physical strength, and minimal emotional expression. One of the male students stated in an interview: “I prefer to write about playing football or swimming because that’s what I do the most. Usually, I just tell what happened without thinking too much about the feelings or relationships between the characters. That’s not really important in my opinion.” (Anggraeni, Sunendar, & Cahyani, 2025b).

In contrast, female students’ narratives show a tendency toward emotional expression, depiction of atmosphere, and deeper interpersonal relationships. The main character not only performs activities but also establishes social relationships and portrays feelings in certain situations. This shows that self-expression in their writing is more influenced by affective values and feminine norms such as empathy and attachment (Anggraeni et al., 2025a). As one female student stated: “I love writing about my vacation experiences with my family because it makes me feel happy.” (Anggraeni et al., 2025b). This is supported by a higher narrative content score of female students, which is 28.7 compared to male students, who are 26.5. The following is an example of the narrative writing of female students shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Results of narrative writing for female students (This visualization is based on the dataset available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.30353890.v1).

The narrative writing of female students in Figure 3 can build a plot with a time and emotion orientation. This is reflected in the plot score of 3.0 and the setting score of 2.7. It exhibits a reflective and expressive narrative style, which is culturally more attached to the feminine role: organizing, paying attention to the atmosphere, and expressing feelings. As in the excerpt of the story piece “On Wednesday, December 31st… We went to Karang Pawitan to see the fireworks to welcome 2025… I’m so happy to see so many fireworks…”

Thus, female students excelled in content, although male students scored slightly higher on characterization (2.45 vs. 2.0), indicating that male narratives may place greater emphasis on character or figures in their stories. The implications of this difference suggest that gender norms and social values contribute to the different focuses of narrative content, with female students tending to adopt feminine norms that emphasize social connections and emotional details through the use of richer settings and plots, while male students emphasize more active characters and roles, in line with masculine norms (Anggraeni et al., 2025a).

Organization

The writing of male students shows a fragmented narrative structure, with jumps between activities without strong logical transitions. Coherence between sections is often broken, reflecting event-oriented narrative processing rather than reflection or character development. This is reflected in the score of 15.1, which is lower than that of the female student. This can be understood as part of a ‘masculine’ narrative construction, which prioritizes action over relationships. As in the phrases “Me and my sister swim…” “My sister and I bought sausages…” and “My sister and I play…” There is a lack of structural variation; it tends to be mechanical. Sentences do not develop semantically. This style is often considered ‘less attractive’ academically, but it may reflect a more “straight to the core” male communication pattern that is unfortunately often not valued in literacy curricula.

This finding is supported by interview data, where one male student stated:

This statement reinforces the idea that fragmented structure is not simply a technical weakness but also a deliberate narrative choice aligned with a preference for brevity and directness.

Meanwhile, female students demonstrated the ability to organize narratives in a more organized manner, although some stories still ended abruptly. This is supported by their higher essay structure score of 18.4. The cohesion of ideas and emotions is more evident in their narratives, showing an awareness of the need to unite social and mental experiences in a single story. In the narrative of the female, there are enough connectors of ideas (“after that,” “we got to …”) indicating an effort to construct a cohesive narrative despite its technical imperfections. This emphasis on the continuity of events and emotions is characteristic of narratives sensitive to social relationships and feelings, in contrast to the often disjointed and abrupt topic changes of masculine narrative styles.

Interview evidence supports this interpretation. One female student explained:

Thus, female students’ narrative organization skills are better than male students’. This reflects the social value of gender that values relationships and regularity of expression; this presents a challenge for educational practices to support and appreciate the more direct or fragmented narrative styles of males without losing the diversity of expression.

Language

The male’s writing has short sentence structures, simple word choices, and a lack of emotional variation. This is reflected in his language use score of 12,5, indicating concise, action-oriented communication. For example, in the boy’s narrative example in Figure 2, there are many repetitions of words, for example, the words “swimming,” “playing,” and “me and my sister.” This shows that the sentence structure is very simple. Words are chosen based on actions, not reflections or expressions. This shows the role of gender stereotypes in language choices, where boys tend to avoid emotional expressions that are considered feminine.

This interpretation is supported by interview data. One male student expressed:

This statement indicates that boys’ preference for simple, repetitive diction is not only a technical limitation but also a reflection of discomfort with emotional vocabulary, aligning with the masculine norm of emotional restraint.

In contrast, female students tend to use more expressive diction, emotional verbs, and sentence formulation that contains evaluations of situations. This is supported by their slightly higher language score of 12.6, with a tendency to use expressive words such as “I’m really happy …” and “very crowded …” This diction is simple, yet it attempts to convey mood. Female students’ narrative writing uses more expressive and repetitive words, indicating that this writing is directed at expressing emotion and experiential involvement, rather than simply recording actions. This supports the finding that female narratives emphasize subjective experience and emotional engagement, something less evident in male students’ writing.

The interviews with female students corroborate this finding. One female student explained:

This response shows that female students have greater intentionality in choosing words that evoke feelings and atmosphere, reinforcing their higher scores in narrative expressiveness.

In the aspect of the use of language in narrative writing, the scores of male and female students showed almost the same scores, with an average of 12.5 for boys and 12.6 for girls. This reflects that both groups have a balanced ability to form sentences and phrases technically. Both male and female students use quite good sentence structure and phrase formation, so there are no significant differences in general language aspects. Thus, these findings suggest that language skills as a technical aspect are not the main factor that differentiates narrative writing styles between men and women.

Grammar

The grammar mastery of female students showed a significant advantage over male students, with an average score of 9,95 compared to 8,15. This illustrates that female students have better grammatical skills in writing narratives. This superior grammar ability can be caused by a more careful attitude in the use of language as well as the existence of social values that encourage perfection in written expression.

Women’s superiority in this aspect of grammar also supports a social perception that associates women with the traits of “prudence” and “attention to detail.” These traits are often considered part of the feminine gender role in cultural contexts, which is then reflected in the quality of their writing. In other words, social norms and gender constructs not only shape the content and style of the narrative, but also influence the technical and neat aspects of student writing.

Writing conventions

The writing conventions aspect which includes spelling and punctuation shows that female students have an average score of 2.7, higher than male students who have an average score of 2.2. This difference illustrates that female students are generally more careful in adhering to technical rules of grammar, such as punctuation placement and spelling accuracy. This rigor contributes to the level of professionalism and ease of reading the narratives written by female students, so that their narratives are not only content rich but also easy to understand and easy to read.

Such greater precision in these aspects of technical writing may also reflect social norms and gender roles that foster greater attention to detail and perfection in women’s writing. Meanwhile, male students may give less priority to this technical aspect, which can lead to more spelling mistakes or punctuation in their narratives.

The Influence of Socio-Economic Status (SES) on Final Scores

As explained in the participant section, students in this study come from socio-economic backgrounds dominated by the lower middle class. To further understand how SES factors contribute to the quality of narrative writing, a Pearson correlation analysis was conducted between nine SES indicators and students’ final scores. This analysis is important to identify the factors that have the most influence on students’ writing achievement, as well as to be the basis for formulating targeted pedagogical recommendations. Table 7 presents the results of the correlation analysis.

The results of Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that all socio-economic status indicators (SES) had a significant positive relationship with the final score of students’ narrative writing. Reading activity (r = 0.856; p < 0.01) and maternal education (r = 0.837; p < 0.01) showed the strongest correlation, falling into the very strong category. This indicates that active reading habits and mother’s educational background are the factors most closely related to the quality of students’ narrative writing.

The indicator groups with strong correlations included father’s education (r = 0.784), father’s work (r = 0.778), number of books at home (r = 0.773), parental assistance (r = 0.773), and internet access (r = 0.771). These five indicators have relatively equal correlation strength, showing that home environmental factors are interrelated in shaping children’s literacy ecosystems.

Meanwhile, maternal work (r = 0.614) and tutoring (r = 0.444) showed a moderate correlation. Interestingly, maternal education correlates much more strongly than maternal employment, indicating that maternal knowledge and capabilities are more important than economic status alone. Similarly, the activity of reading is stronger than just the possession of a book, confirming the importance of the quality of interaction with the reading material.

Gender norms and stereotypes in narrative writing

Based on the study of the results of narrative writing, it reveals how gender norms and stereotypes are implicitly represented and reproduced in student writing. The narrative of male students tends to assert traditional masculinity norms that emphasize independence, physical activeness, and emotional control. The ‘me’ figure in male narratives is more often portrayed as an actor without deep emotional involvement, which reflects social expectations for men to appear strong and not affectively expressive (Anggraeni et al., 2025a).

This interpretation is reinforced by interview data. One male student stated:

This quote illustrates how masculine identity construction leads boys to avoid affective expressions and focus on actions, aligning with hegemonic masculinity norms that value independence and physical activity.

In contrast, female student narratives feature feminine norms that emphasize social attachment, empathy, and emotional expression. Characters in women’s narratives not only play an active role but also show a connection with others and a rich reflection of feelings.

A female student shared during the interview:

This statement confirms that girls see emotions as an integral part of storytelling, reflecting cultural expectations that validate empathy and relational sensitivity.

These findings suggest that even though students write based on personal experiences, they are still influenced by the social and cultural constructs that shape their understanding of gender roles. The interviews demonstrate that boys’ avoidance of emotional vocabulary and girls’ preference for emotive and relational narratives are not purely individual tendencies but are socially reinforced patterns.

Gendered narrative styles

The comparison between the narratives of male and female students shows a different pattern of dominance of expression, where the male narrative style is more oriented towards external actions and events, while the female narrative style emphasizes interpersonal relationships and emotional depth. This pattern reflects not only individual preferences but also the potential marginalization of certain styles of expression in educational contexts. For example, more direct and simple male narratives are often undervalued in literacy assessments that prioritize the emotional depth and complexity of the narrative, which tend to be associated with female styles (Anggraeni et al., 2025a).

Interview data provides additional insight into this phenomenon. One male student stated:

This quote highlights that brevity and action-focus are conscious narrative choices rather than merely technical limitations, suggesting that boys value efficiency and directness in their storytelling.

Conversely, a female student shared:

This illustrates that girls intentionally craft narratives to evoke empathy and emotional engagement from readers, which aligns with their higher scores in content and organization.

This pattern has implications for the reproduction of gender inequality in literacy education, where masculine expressions can be marginalized or considered less valuable when assessment criteria favor detailed, emotionally rich narratives. These findings are in line with critical literacy theory that emphasizes the importance of critiquing hidden norms and values in literacy practice, as well as gender studies that show how education can reproduce or challenge gender stereotypes.

Limitations and further research

This study has several limitations that should be acknowledged. First, the research was conducted in a single public elementary school in an urban setting, which may limit the generalizability of findings to rural schools or different socio-economic contexts. Second, the qualitative data were based on written narratives and interviews from a relatively small sample (33 students, 10 interviews), which, while sufficient for in-depth thematic analysis, may not capture the full diversity of narrative styles across Indonesia.

Future research should expand to multiple schools with diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, employ larger and more balanced samples, and consider longitudinal designs to observe how gendered narrative styles evolve over time. Mixed-method approaches integrating quantitative linguistic analysis tools (e.g., corpus linguistics software) could provide additional objectivity. It would also be valuable to explore teacher perceptions and grading rubrics to determine how assessment practices directly shape and potentially reinforce these gendered narrative patterns. Finally, cross-cultural studies comparing Indonesian data with other countries in Southeast Asia could offer insights into whether these patterns are culturally specific or universal.