This article presents results from qualitative research on children's dominant gender discourses in kindergarten and the influence of the socio-pedagogical aspects of kindergarten culture, transmitted via teachers' gender discourses and personal epistemologies, on the construction of children's gender discourses and identities. The main questions…

Culture is constructed by society and in turn constructs the identity of a people. The patterns of behaviors, practices, and values shared by a group of people represent and reflect their ethnic, religious, and gender orientations. Knowledge about people's cultural backgrounds contributes to our understanding of the role of education in shaping…

The study examined the strategies used by teacher educators in their teaching practices and gender integration in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The nature of the engagement of educational leaders and administrators in supporting teaching, learning and mainstreaming gender issues in teaching was also examined. A total of 165 sampled respondents were…

The purpose of this study is to investigate how gender manifests itself in Norwegian kindergarten, as observed by students during three weeks' work experience. The empirical basis was collated from 40 accounts of work experience from 20 kindergartens. Student kindergarten teachers' observations of how gender is expressed in kindergarten forms the…

Social interaction is one of the many things what preschool life is about, and how social life is constituted is of importance to understand. In early childhood education settings, children are guided and fostered by teachers and by each other in different directions. The overall aim of the article is to make a contribution to a deeper…

This article examines the impact on work culture when men work in kindergartens. In Norway, as in other countries there has been a call for more male staff in kindergartens. Increasing the amount of men may imply that institutionalized norms and practice are put under pressure. By using a case study approach, the focus is on employees' experiences…

The aim of this study is to explore practitioners' gender beliefs and how gendered values are embedded in Swedish preschool practice. The research question is: What beliefs about gender and the associated values, can be identified in practitioners' talk when they discuss gender issues? The study is informed by Bronwyn Davies' theoretical ideas…

This article investigates early childhood educators' perceptions of children's gender-role play and the impact their cultural background plays in their gender identity and play behaviors. Through qualitative in-depth interviews, early childhood educators in Canada (n = 40) were asked questions relating to their experiences with children from…

Globally, the child-centred approach to education has influenced practitioners' views of young children as having democratic rights. A key principle of this concept is the belief that each child is unique and can only be compared in relation to their own performance. Here we employ a feminist poststructuralist approach to critique the…

Drawing on data collected for a larger study investigating kindergarten teachers' online discussions of play, the present qualitative study examines teachers' discussions of gender. Findings suggest that teachers' project onto their kindergarten students many of their own gender prejudices about play. These teachers reinforced gendered attitudes…

As a parent, sociologist, and educator, the author often seems to see the world differently from others. While some see a public policy debate as a football game between winners and losers, he sees it as a vital way to create a good society. While some see education as a means to an end, he sees it as a goal in and of itself. Some see gender…

Research Findings: Two forms of exercise play (toy mediated and non-mediated) and 2 forms of rough-and-tumble (R&T) play (chase and fighting) were examined in relation to preschoolers' peer competence. A total of 148 preschoolers (78 boys, 89 Euro-Americans) were observed during free play at their university-sponsored child care center. The…

In Sweden, gender pedagogics has been on the political agenda the last decade. Consequently, gender matters have been given much attention in Swedish preschools, and specialized pedagogues have also been trained to counteract socially constructed gender distinctions. Therefore, we have explored the enactment of gender pedagogics. We asked 17…

Early childhood educators' (ECE) perceptions of gender roles may contribute to the development of children's own gender-role identities. This qualitative study examined 40 Canadian female ECEs' perceptions of gender and children's shy, aggressive, and prosocial behaviors. Content analysis of extensive interviews revealed three themes: (1) shyness…

The article investigates the discursive constructions of preschool girls and points to how girls are positioned, assessed and constructed by adults in parent-teacher conferences in Swedish preschools. Using transcripts of audio-taped episodes from parent-teacher conferences, the analysis reveals that gender is an important aspect of the adults'…