Children Education and Society Essay

Children Education and Society Essay

Instructions/Descriptions

Children Education and Society Essay

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Task 1b.

Write a Literature review of contemporary issue:

Contemporary issue: What are the roles of an early childhood educator in supporting non-gendered play and how their perception of gender influence children’s play?

Word count,1800. Due date 16th May 2020 8pm (Sydney time). Value 35 %

Learning Outcomes:

• Engage with diverse learners in a range of educational contexts to develop skills and knowledge for flexible and adaptable participation in professional communities of practice.
• Demonstrate creativity, critical thinking and innovation when identifying and solving problems in diverse educational settings.

Task 1b. part 2: Value 35 marks

Using the research question to write a literature review relating to  your chosen topic. The literature review MUST include discussion on how other contemporary scholarly authors ( NO WEBSITES) have discussed this issue and linked to your research question.

Your literature review, must be relevant to your topic and  include literature no OLDER than  10-15 years.  [Seminal writers in their field are an exception, but MUST not be all you include]. The paper must be written using APA 7th referencing with correct spelling, & grammar

You are to  include a minimum of 8 scholarly works for this section  that add to your research. Student must include a reference list ( APA 7th Style) ( not included in word count)  at the end of their paper.

• Introduction is included  of the chosen topic and how the issue relates to children, families and early childhood communities in an Australian context (5 marks) ;
• Key areas of agreement, disagreement and tensions regarding the issue which critically analyses and engages with the literature under each heading (10 marks );
• How the major themes of the literature contribute to a body of knowledge of the topic in relation to current practice in early childhood communities (10 marks );
• A concluding summary which explains – based on your understanding of the literature – the significance of the chosen topic to children, families and early childhood communities in current times (5 marks)
• References to a wide range of literature using APA (7th ) style, appropriate in-text referencing and a list of sources. The written work should be coherently expressed and show a wide range of sources researched for this task, which includes scholarly literature (5 marks ).

RMIT Electronic Submission of work for assessment

I declare that in submitting all work for this assessment I have read, understood and agree to the content and expectations of the  Assessment declaration Links to an external site.

ABSTRACT This research aimed to explore children’s play in relation to gender stereotypes and beliefs and practices of educators in preschool settings. A feminist poststructuralist approach framed the design of the research and data were collected in two settings through predetermined categories of play during periods of spontaneous free play.

The question asked in this research was, do early childhood educators’ perceptions of gender influence children’s play? Findings suggest that there were differences between these two settings and these differences are explained through individual beliefs and practices of the educators.

ARTICLE HISTORY Received 7 May 2015 Accepted 29 August 2015

KEYWORDS Gender; early childhood education; educators’ perceptions; stereotypes

Introduction

This research aimed to explore early childhood settings in relation to how gender roles might be dis- played or supported without the educator being aware. It examines how educators’ potentially influence where children play, what children play with and how they engage in the play.

A feminist poststructuralist approach was taken for this research. Research has revealed that gender is a complex and sensitive area, with a wide range of opinions on how it is formed in individuals and the role it plays in society. It is argued that a consistent and child-oriented early childhood education is important to children’s growth and development, and that educators play a pivotal role in supporting this when they establish physical and social environments that do not implicitly or explicitly encourage gender stereotypes.

Gender is defined as the social division of femininity and masculinity (Scott & Marshall, 2009). Differences in gender roles become evident in children at a young age. Maccoby (1988) and Whiting and Edwards (1988) suggest that by the time boys and girls are three years old they show different communicative styles, participate in different activities, play more with same-sex peers and avoid peers of the opposite sex. While it is widely recognised that gender exists, there is a broad difference of opinion on the importance of addressing the gendering of children’s identities. Common views may range:

from the view that gender doesn’t matter to young children, through a sense that good early childhood practice produces equity for all, to beliefs that pursuing gender equity compromises partnerships with parents and clashes with multicultural perspectives in early childhood. (MacNaughton, 2000, p. 1)

These views do not consider the impact and limitations that gender can place on a child’s sense of identity. Society has linked the division of people into males and females so closely with our under- standing of identity that it is generally understood as a fact rather than something we have learned to see as natural (Davies, 2003). This research utilised a feminist poststructuralist approach to gender formation to deconstruct a discourse of gender that questions the necessity of gender roles in contemporary society.

The use of such an approach allows the researcher to critically analyse societal practices and question the relevance of these practices in our societal context. The segregation of males and females through constrictive gender roles, dictated by earlier work demands, like hunting and gathering, has become redundant. We must recognise gender formation in a context that is relevant.

This research was conducted in two preschool settings located in Melbourne, Australia. In each setting two educators and one class of four-year-olds were participants. Educators were interviewed about their views on play and gender, and the children were observed playing.

The observations were carried out to gain an understanding of the types of play that the children in each setting engaged in, as well as noting the number of males and females engaging in stereotypically gendered play. Analysis was conducted using the stereotypical categories outlined in research conducted by Harten, Olds, and Dollman (2008), Twarek and George (1994), Tonyan and Howes (2003), Oncu and Unluer (2010), Kristensen (2006), and Rekers (1975).

The study examined the influence that educators’ values, perceptions and actions can have on children’s play, particularly how ideas of gender roles are manifested. The research gives an account of practices within the educational setting and presents a review of relevant research literature, describes the research and reports on findings that suggest that these educators did, unknowingly, support the children’s social interactions and stereotypical gendered play in the early childhood setting. The question addressed in this paper is, do early childhood educators’ perceptions of gender influence children’s play?

Literature review

A common belief through the lens of feminist poststructuralism is that gender inequalities exist because we live in a society that has dominant ideas about the correct way to be male and female (Blaise, 2005; MacNaughton, 1996, 1998). Normalising gender discourses can problematise children’s choices in taking up different gendered performances and activities (Robinson & Davies, 2007).

Society has linked the division of people into males and females so closely with our under- standing of identity that it is generally understood as a fact rather than something we have learned to see as natural (Davies, 2003). The societal binary of masculine and feminine can be extremely limiting and it is important that individuals, particularly those in a position of authority with children, recognise this gender binary.

The desired result is that rather than society being coerced and guided by predefined notions of gender, all social ways of being and relating and gender activities would be available to all people (Alloway, 1995). The research literature that is relevant to this paper has examined the question of gender formation and the impact of stereotypes on gender formation, young children and play and the experience of gender in educational settings.

Gender formation

Oakley (1993) explains that sex is the ‘biological differences between male and female’, whereas gender is ‘a matter of culture: it refers to the social classification into “masculine” and “feminine”’ (p. 16). Gender is a societal process that begins at birth (MacNaughton, 2000) and then expands and develops with the child (Snowman et al., 2009).

Yelland and Grieshaber (1998) suggest that in some societies it is ‘the major status indicator’ (p. 1). Weigman (2006) posits that gender is ‘made and remade according to the political desire that seeks it in the first place’ (p. 99). Blaise (2005) suggests that societies’ desire for acceptable gender roles extends to the preschool classroom. She proposes that changes should be made to the structured view of gender, stating that ‘non-oppressive gender order can only come about through a radical change in our conventional notions of under- standing gender’ (p. 86).

In the 1990s, the approach to gender changed from a focus on the sex-role socialisation theory to an emergence of feminist postmodern and poststructuralist pedagogies (Hogan, 2012; Skelton &

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Francis, 2005) which asserts that people can and should ultimately form their own gender identity (MacNaughton, 2000). MacNaughton (2001) explains that with this change of approach, researchers began to focus on developing ‘an understanding of how gender is understood and practised in specific domains of learning’ (p. 22). She suggests that these studies helped to provide ‘strong evi- dence that children’s living and learning is deeply affected by the gendered limits children place on themselves and others’ (p. 23).

Creaser and Dau (1996, p. 2) suggest that children are quite aware of gender, cultural, racial and physical differences. In relation to gender, they explain that ‘children aged between two and five years have been documented commenting on and asking questions about gender differences’ (p. 3).

In fact, children as young as one-and-a-half have been documented selecting roles that are viewed as appropriate for their gender (Rainey & Rust, 1999). MacNaughton (2000) explains that ‘young children have a deep knowledge of the perceived rules about gender in society’ (p. 32). Blaise (2007) believes that ‘how children are showing and telling us what they know about gender is in the strategies that they use to regulate gender amongst themselves’ (p. 31).

One common belief is that gender inequalities exist because we live in a society that has dominant ideas about the correct way to be male and female (MacNaughton, 1996, 1998). This belief produces a ‘gender order’ where some ideas are seen to be better and more right than others (MacNaughton, 1998), creating inequalities and segregation.

Without a gender order, or correct way to be male and female, these inequalities would not exist (MacNaughton, 1998). Normalising gender discourses can problematise children’s choices in taking up different gendered performances and behaviours as children may not fit completely into the dominant ideas of masculinity and femininity (MacNaughton, 1998; Robinson & Davies, 2007).

Some feminist poststructuralists believe that children learn their gender by positioning them- selves inside the masculine and feminine discourses that are available to them in our society (Blaise & Taylor, 2012; Davies, 2003; MacNaughton, 1996). Despite this, in the event that an adult tries to convince the child masculinity and femininity have differing meanings, the child tends to ignore what does not fit with the current understanding of gender discourses they have developed (MacNaughton, 1998).

This supports the need for carefully crafted gender equity plans for early child- hood educators that address not only the resources provided to the children but also language, agency, subjectivity, discourse and power (Halim & Linder, 2013; Hughes & MacNaughton, 2001; Ebbeck, 1998).

It is believed that learning gender is an ongoing struggle by children to interpret and make sense of the messages around them (Davies, 1989; MacNaughton, 1998; Walkerdine, 1990), and that early childhood educators need to engage actively in this struggle with them (MacNaughton, 1998). It is important for educators to help children to deconstruct their gender binaries.

Stereotypes on gender formation and children’s play

Turner-Bowker (1996) defines stereotypes as ‘learned, widely shared, and socially validated, general beliefs about categories of individuals’; she suggests that they are often inaccurate but ‘are widely shared as truth and very powerful’ (p. 461). These ‘powerful truths’ can be present from early child- hood as the early childhood years can be seen as a highly sensitive and influential time where children begin to understand themselves and the world around them (Davies, 1989). It is also a time when children begin to recognise and adhere to gender roles.

Aina and Cameron (2011) stress that the early childhood years are a ‘critical period’ for combating gender stereotypes (p. 11). This is particularly important as gender stereotypes can be limiting to a child’s emotional growth and development (Narahara, 2000) as children may internalise messages about negative or rigid stereo- types that place boundaries on the child and how they should act.

Gender stereotypes are present and prevalent in children’s play (Boldt, 1996; Wohlwend, 2011). Research into children’s play outlines what is considered to be stereotyped play differences of boys and girls, or gendered play. Harten, Olds, and Dollman (2008) suggest that boys are more

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active than girls and that they rely on ‘space-using standardised games, such as football, and [that] they occupy more space than girls during free play’ (p. 386). They also believe that boys are more competitive, exclusive, play in large groups and that ‘good players tend to dominate’ (p. 387), whereas Twarek and George (1994) suggest that girls tend to ‘be more inclusive and co-operative’ than boys, and engage in ‘passive, small-group games which use less space’ (pp. 1–2).

Tonyan and Howes (2003) completed a study on children from 192 randomly selected childcare centres across Florida, USA. From their research they concluded amongst children aged 37 months and older, boys were more likely to engage in gross-motor-skill activities than ‘creative activities, language art activities, high-level adult involvement, and activities involving manipulatives’ (p. 138).

They also discovered that girls in this age group were more likely to become engaged in ‘creative clusters’ in comparison to ‘gross-motor clusters’ or activities. Oncu and Unluer (2010) con- ducted a study on 40 children selected from four preschools in Kocaeli, Turkey. They observed chil- dren engaging in creative play, noting which materials were selected by the children and how they were used. They found that girls ‘tend to play with real objects’ or ‘household devices’ (p. 4459) more often than boys.

Kristensen (2006) completed a study into dramatic play of six-year-olds and the effects of gender difference on how it is carried out. He studied 16 girls and 16 boys recording their dramatic play and analysing it based on various dramatic elements. He found that the boys often extended their play space beyond the set area, using the props to create diverse situations, and that they would predetermine their roles while the girls tended to keep their dramatic play closer to the set area, developing their storyline around the props and surroundings that were already present. Relationship building and family themes were common in the girls’ play.

Rekers (1975) studied cross-gender play among a group of five- to eight-year-old boys. The results of the study found that whilst observed directly, the boys engaged in masculine or ‘appropriate’ play (p. 140) but when left alone in the play room, all children engaged in predominantly feminine play. Herbert and Stipek (2005) states that children intuitively understand their parents’ and teachers’ gender-related beliefs and expectations and this can impact on the way they view their own gender identities.

Research is frequently conducted into reducing stereotyped gender roles to develop gender equity (Coffey & Acker, 1991; Freeman, 2007; Karniol & Gal-Disegni, 2009), examining the importance of ‘building pedagogies that challenge sexism [that] can increase children’s chances of learning and living more fully’ (MacNaughton, 2000, p. 23).

Karniol and Gal-Disegni completed a study in two first grade classrooms about gender stereotypes in readers. They provided one setting with ‘gender- stereotyped’ readers and the other setting with ‘gender-fair’ readers. They then showed the children a mix of activities and asked if they were appropriate for males or females.

They discovered that the children who had the ‘gender-fair’ readers suggested more activities were appropriate for males and females, whereas the children given the ‘gender-stereotyped’ readers assigned most activities to either male or female. This enforces the idea that it is important to actively counter gender-stereo- typed materials in the early childhood setting.

Gender and educational settings

In Australia, the early childhood education programme is being progressively advanced through the addition of a new national Framework for early childhood, the early years learning framework (EYLF) (DE&T, 2010). The framework was designed to provide children aged birth to eight years of age a consistent start regardless of their socio-economic background or the type of prior-to-school setting they attended (Docket, 2009).

The framework has a strong focus on identity; however it seems to skip over the area of gender equity (DE&T, 2010). The EYLF only mentions gender in the introductory paragraph about identity. The framework aims to cater for children’s identities through multiple methods; however the solutions for supplying children with gender equality seem to ignore gender differences and identity.

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As reported in the literature review research suggests that early childhood settings can represent highly gendered environments (Alloway, 1995). Considering the highly gendered environment in early childhood settings, it becomes important for educators to consider the ways in which their prac- tices might be encouraging or discouraging children’s participation in the programme (Tonyan & Howes, 2003)

Every educator has individual experiences and beliefs surrounding the concept of gender (Riddell, 2005; Scott & Morrison, 2005). The variance in responses and perceptions may contain ‘the essence of gender bias based on deep-seated values and stereotypes’ (Snowman et al., 2009, p. 126). Eckes and Trautner (2000) believe that boys and girls receive different treatment from educators, suggesting that this is due to ‘a complicated pattern of teacher expectations and children’s preferences’ (p. 76).

Fagot and Patterson (1969) observed two preschool classrooms and found that the educators gave boys and girls ‘different amounts of feedback’ (Eckes & Trautner, 2000, p. 77). They discovered that educators were most likely to interact with children when they were engaging in art activities and indoor table play, and not when they were engaged in construction or outdoor experiences. They also noted that it was mainly girls engaging in the art and indoor table play, and consequentially the boys received less feedback.

Ewing and Taylor (2009) believe that educators ‘have gender-typed expectations for children’s behaviour in the classroom and differentially reward and punish boys’ and girls’ behaviours in accord- ance with these expectations’ (p. 93). Fagot (1977) found that educators often praised boys for enga- ging in traditionally male activities and tended to criticise them for doing stereotypically feminine activities.

Lee-Thomas, Sumsion, and Roberts (2005) completed a study into educators’ understand- ing of and commitment to gender equity in the early childhood setting. They explored educators’ feelings about their ability to intervene in gender equity and their reliance on socialisation theory in gender-related practice.

They found a tendency towards a sense of fatalism, in which educators felt helpless towards creating change in children’s concept of gender. This fatalism discourages many educators from working towards gender equity (Hughes & MacNaughton, 2001). Another influencing factor is that the majority of educators in early childhood are female (Saluja, Early, & Clifford, 2002). This might also influence the way in which educators interact with the children (Ewing & Taylor, 2009).

Research

Theoretical framework

A feminist poststructuralist approach was taken in the development of the research project and a feminist poststructuralist lens was applied to the analysis of the data collected. The research was qualitative interpretive and examined individuals’ theories and experience in-depth and therefore was subjective in nature.

The data were used to theories children’s play activities and were used to frame the data analysis. This is a view of gender as a socially constructed concept and allows for a feminist method of critique and analysis as the practice of gender is seen to be a result of the relational and meditational influence of the historical, cultural and social environment of the child.

Methods

Participant – preschool teachers There were a total of 43 participants in the study. They consisted of two preschool teachers, two assistant teachers and 39 four- and five-year-old children. The subjects were selected from two pre- school settings located in differing socio-economic neighbourhoods of Melbourne, Victoria. Pre- schools were chosen as they offer consistent attendance and hours, so children were likely to be familiar with each other, thus ensuring that the results were as consistent as possible.

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Participant – researcher Research was conducted from July 2010 to September 2010 by one researcher. Each setting was visited for two days. During this time the researcher interviewed the preschool teacher and assistant teacher on a range of aspects of children’s play as well as the impact that gender has on how play is carried out in their settings. The researcher also spent two sessions observing the children at play and tabulating this. Notes were taken on the types of play children engaged in, whether the children were male or female and which experiences were frequently used.

Settings Setting One. Setting One is a sessional preschool located in a predominately upper class suburb in Melbourne’s south east. Setting One is community based, with most decisions being made by a com- mittee of families, but is managed by a not-for-profit organisation. The setting also has a director who works directly with the families. The four- to five-year-old session is run by two educators, one of whom is also the director. The session consists of 26 children, of whom 22 were involved in this research.

Setting Two. Setting Two is a not-for-profit childcare centre and preschool located in a predomi- nately working class area with middle- to low-income families. It is located in a culturally diverse suburb located in inner city Melbourne. Setting Two is community based, depending on active invol- vement from families in all areas, including policy planning. The four- to five-year-old session is run daily by two educators. The programme offers both indoor and outdoor play for the majority of the session. The session consists of 22 children, of whom 17 were involved in this research.

Data collection A qualitative approach to data collection was taken. Semi-structured interviews of the educators and observations of the children were used to collect data. Data were analysed through the perspective of the feminist poststructuralist approach, which meant looking for trends in the research that support the idea that educators’ perceptions of children’s play will be observed in their actions which in turn is a way of articulating their own theories of children and children’s play.

This included examining educators’ perceptions by sorting the observations into gendered or non-gendered play types. The play was split into categories based on predefined definitions of what is considered to be stereotypical male play and stereotypical female play (Harten, Olds, & Dollman, 2008; Kristensen, 2006; Oncu & Unluer, 2010; Rekers, 1975; Tonyan & Howes, 2003; Twarek & George, 1994).

The data collected were analysed by setting, and then the observations were compared against the responses from the educators in that setting. The researcher looked for trends that occurred in the educators’ responses, in particular ideas that were repeated across settings and how these linked with the data collected from the observations. Whilst predominantly qualitative data were utilised in this research project, the research used descriptive quantitative data in order to capture the types and frequency of play occurring at each setting.

Observations of the children. For each interaction the researcher included the sex of the child or children involved and what they were doing, and then later considered how it contradicted or con- formed to gender stereotyped play. The observations were measured based on the frequency of each experience, noting the number and the sex of the children engaged. This data were then collated and presented in a table, differentiating between indoor and outdoor play.

The play types were based on the stereotypical categories outlined in the literature of this paper as outlined in the previous section. Based on that research, stereotypical boy play was defined as gross- motor activities (Tonyan & Howes, 2003), dramatic play involving few props (Oncu & Unluer, 2010) and a large play space and ball games (Twarek & George, 1994). It was also considered to be active and physical experiences (Harten, Olds, & Dollman, 2008) and larger group experiences.

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Stereotypical girl play was defined as dramatic play with family themes (Kristensen, 2006), creative activities, language art activities, manipulatives or sensory play (Tonyan & Howes, 2003), and small group games (Twarek & George, 1994). Play that did not fit into these categories was considered to be non-stereotyped activities.

Observations were documented in a table split into three columns, listed by the types of play (stereotypical boy play, stereotypical girl play and non-stereotyped play). All observations were anon- ymous. For each interaction, the sex of the child or children involved and what they were doing were documented, and then later analysed for how they contradicted or conformed to the predefined research parameters of gender-stereotyped play. The observations were measured based on the fre- quency of each experience, the environment and noted the number and the sex of the children engaged. This data were then collated and presented in a table, differentiating between indoor and outdoor play.

Interviews with educators. The questions ranged from the educators’ general background and history to questions about gender and play. The specific topics addressed were: . the value of play; . play observed and encouraged in their setting; . the educator’s role in the children’s play including intervention and support; . current interests in the setting; . perceptions of ‘typical’ boy and girl play; . how gender affects their planning; . opinions about how a child’s gender affects their play; . gender -related issues observed in children’s play; . opinions on the importance of gender in their setting.

Data processing Once the results for each setting were collected, they were then compared, contrasted and analysed, looking for correlations between the educators’ perceptions and the amount and types of gendered play in each setting, taking into account the social environment and diversity of each preschool. The experience of the educators was considered, taking into account variables in the length and type of training, such as tertiary or vocational, and years of experience. The data were presented in a case study format, documenting the information through the use of quotes as well as displayed visually through tables and charts.

Data and findings

Within each setting, data from the observations of children and responses from the educators’ interviews are presented. The observations are summarised in tables. Each unit within a table rep- resents one child engaging in a particular experience. In the case that children played in pairs or groups, they have still been represented individually. The main points and opinions from the inter- views with the educators have been summarised, quoted, paraphrased and discussed in the sec- tions below.

Setting One

Frequency and type of children’s play Thirteen girls and 11 boys from Setting One participated in this research. Their play was observed and recorded. Below is a table depicting the type and frequency of their play indoors and outdoors. This is followed by a summary of the data collected.

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Indoors Summary of data. Children in Setting One spent the majority of time indoors engaged in art experi- ences, construction experiences and sensory play. The art experiences included drawing, painting, collage and constructing with boxes. Both boys and girls engaged in the experiences; however a sig- nificant number of girls returned repeatedly. The construction experiences included Lego, small blocks and big blocks. Children built castles, trains, cars and houses. Both boys and girls engaged in the use of the Lego and small blocks. Only boys used the large blocks. Sensory play included play dough, clay and slime. A large number of girls engaged in all of the sensory experiences and a few boys explored the slime. Other activities included puzzles, books, imaginative play with puppets and dramatic play in a post office environment (Table 1).

The play was detailed and the children changed experiences frequently. Children played both indi- vidually and in groups. Groups mostly consisted of boys playing together or girls playing together. In a few instances girls and boys played together. These included collage and drawing.

Outdoors Summary of data. Children in Setting One spent the majority of time outdoors engaged in dramatic play, climbing equipment and running. The dramatic play consisted mainly of props, such as dress-up costumes. A number of children dressed up as bats or princesses. Some children also engaged in family scenarios, acting the part of mother or baby. This play was engaged in by girls and boys; however the girls only participated in the princess or family play. The boys participated in the bat play and family play. The climbing equipment included climbing frames, ladders, slides and monkey bars. The climbing equipment and running were frequented by both girls and boys. Other activities included exploring plants to find snails, bikes, sand pit/dirt patch and use of the swing set (Table 2).

The play was detailed and the children spent a long time at some experiences and less time at others. Children played both individually and in groups. Groups mostly consisted of boys playing together or girls playing together. During a few instances of play on the climbing equipment, girls and boys played together.

Setting Two

Frequency and type of children’s play Seven girls and 10 boys from Setting Two participated in this research. Their play was observed and recorded. Below is a table depicting the type and frequency of their play. This is followed by a summary of the data collected.

Indoors

Summary of data. Children in Setting Two spent the majority of time indoors engaged in dramatic play and art experiences. The dramatic play centred around the workforce, namely running a café. There was also some dramatic play about working in a post office. The art experiences mainly

Table 1. Frequency of indoor experiences.

Boys Girls Art experiences 15 38 Book area 3 2 Construction experiences 30 18 Puzzle table 5 3 Dramatic play 8 11 Imaginative play 12 0 Sensory play 2 27

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focused on the theme of money and included painting, drawing, cutting, box construction and tracing. Other activities included puzzles, a dollhouse, book area and threading (Table 3).

The play was detailed and the children generally remained at the same experiences for lengthy periods of time. Children played both individually and in groups. Groups often consisted of boys and girls playing together.

Outdoors Summary of data. Children in Setting Two spent the majority of time outdoors engaged in construc- tion and dramatic play. The construction included the use of large blocks, Lego and some building in the sandpit with smaller blocks and buckets. This play was mainly engaged in by boys and mostly in groups. The dramatic play consisted of train trips on the climbing equipment, families with babies, spaceships and cooking in the kitchen. This play was engaged in by a mix of boys and girls. The play was mostly in groups with some occurrence of individual play. Other activities included letter writing, sand pit, water play, painting, musical instruments and the book corner (Table 4).

The play was detailed and the children generally remained in the same experiences for lengthy periods of time. Children played both individually and in groups. The groups were often separate with boys engaging in one experience while girls engaged in a different one. However in some instances boys and girls did play together. These included drawing and dramatic play.

Discussion of educators’ perceptions

In this discussion quotes from the educators in the two settings are provided to illustrate the findings from the interviews conducted in each setting. Each preschool session is run by two educators, who

Table 3. Frequency of indoor experiences.

Boys Girls

Art experiences 12 7 Book area 2 0 Construction experiences 13 7 Puzzle table 1 0 Dramatic play 16 11 Imaginative play 1 4

Table 4. Frequency of outdoor experiences.

Boys Girls

Construction 23 1 Art/writing 4 7 Climbing equipment 4 1 Sandpit/dirt patch 6 3 Dramatic play 21 8 Othera 8 0 aOther includes: Musical instruments and book corner.

Table 2. Frequency of outdoor experiences.

Boys Girls

Bikes 3 2 Running 12 2 Climbing equipment 10 7 Sandpit/dirt patch 4 5 Dramatic play 16 26 Swing 4 7 Othera 4 0 aOther includes: Exploring plants to find snails.

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play different roles within the setting. These roles include planning, choosing resources, setting up experiences and encouraging play. Tonyan and Howes (2003) believe that it is important to examine the way that educators’ perceptions and practices might be ‘encouraging or discouraging participation in activities’ (pp. 138–139). In order to evaluate how the educators’ perceptions of gender influence children’s play, the possible links between these perceptions and what was observed in each setting are considered.

There are a number of ways in which educators’ perceptions may influence children’s play. The educators’ perceptions emerge, and are thus transferred to the children, through their programme planning, resources offered, feedback provided, general interactions with other educators and the children themselves, and, most significantly, the amount of facilitating and involvement in the children’s play. As outlined in this research, children learn and develop understandings through their interactions with society and individuals.

Learning gender can be an ongoing struggle by children to interpret and make sense of the messages around them (Davies, 1989; Walkerdine, 1990), and therefore early childhood educators need to engage actively in this struggle with them (MacNaugh- ton, 1998). It is important for educators to help children to deconstruct their gender binaries. Herbert and Stipek (2005) believe that educators’ perceptions and views are ‘in part responsible for gender differences in children’s own beliefs’ (p. 280), which can affect the way that the children interact with each other and engage in play. This discussion will examine significant incidents observed where this appears to have occurred.

Whilst the majority of educators were able to identify a distinction between the categories of typical boy and girl play (Harten, Olds, & Dollman, 2008; Oncu & Unluer, 2010; Kristensen, 2006), their perceptions as to why the different play types occurred varied. This was evident when juxtaposing Setting One and Setting Two. In Setting One the educators believed that these differences in play were caused by biological differences, ‘the nature of the person and how they are born’. It was also evident that this belief affected their planning.

Educator A explained that they planned based on chil- dren’s interests and that in previous boy-dominant groups they had focused on offering more stereo- typical boy play. It could be seen from her response that children in Setting One were provided with opportunities to engage in gendered play. This was evident in observations that showed a large number of boys engaging in physical play and girls engaging in sensory play.

Educator B mirrored the beliefs of Educator A in relation to planning, stating that she would plan the programme differently if there were more children of one sex in the group. Despite stating that they focused on the individual child, Educator B stated that for a boy-heavy group they would ‘plan a little more outside time’ and both educators stated that they would do the opposite for a girl-dominant group.

This shows that the educators in Setting One held particular perceptions and beliefs about the play types of males and females. MacNaughton (2000) would describe this as gender bias which she defined as an individual’s method of perceiving others based on gender. MacNaugh- ton, Rolfe, and Siraj-Blatchford (2001) explained that gender bias might involve positive or negative responses to one gender in particular, based on preconceived ideas about what gender entails.

The educators in Setting Two had many commonalities in their responses, as well as articulating other views. Educator C provided an explanation of typical play for boys and girls but Educator D stated that ‘there is no typical girl play and no typical boy play’. Educator C believed that gender had an effect on the children’s play at times, but that it was not always evident in their setting. She explained, however, that they planned for children’s interests.

Educator D believed that the boys had higher energy levels, and suggested that this was a biological difference, whereas the girls engaged in a range of experiences. She explained that her planning was aimed at the children’s interests, but that she was also ‘conscious of not applying the [gender] roles’ into the experiences. She aimed to incorporate ‘male and female role models’ into the programme and explained that each experience and play type was for all children.

It appears that the educators in Setting Two worked to implement strategies to acknowledge gender issues. As illustrated by the following quote, Educator D explained that she consciously provides ‘non-gender-specific areas for the chil- dren’ in her programme, representing all activities as relevant to all children. This could be observed

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in the children’s play as both boys and girls in this setting engaged in a wide range of experiences outside of the set stereotypical play parameters.

While educators in both settings focused on the children’s interests, their views on typical play and the reasons behind it influenced the way in which they planned, and thus the way that children played. One example of this can be seen in Setting One. The educators defined typical girl play as ‘drawing, drawing families’ and ‘structured specific play’. Their programme offered a number of struc- tured art activities and the results showed that there was a large difference in the frequency of girls engaging in art experiences to the number of boys. Although both boys and girls participated, a number of girls returned repeatedly to engage in them again. This supported Tonyan and Howes’ (2003) theory about art and language experiences being stereotypical girl play, and also aligned with the educators’ beliefs about what constituted typical girl play.

Another example of the impact of educators’ planning occurred in Setting Two. Many boys par- ticipated in dramatic play, while a slightly smaller number of girls took part. Children took on the roles of people in the community, with play scenarios including train trips, families, spaceships or astronauts, and cooking in the kitchen.

Both educators in Setting Three noted that dramatic play or ‘role playing’ is an interest of the children and this was evident in the large amount of dramatic play occurring both indoors and outdoors. The dramatic play present in this setting involved many props in addition to family and community scenarios, and this contradicted the research, as Kristensen (2006) and Oncu and Unluer (2010) define this type of dramatic play to be girl type play.

The educators’ perceptions in this setting, particularly those of Educator D, would have influenced the way that children are attracted to the experiences in this setting. Educator D’s belief in gender equity led her to make a conscious effort to provide ‘male and female role models’ and thus provide for and encourage all children to engage in the experience.

Children Education and Society Essay

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