Families With Nonwestern Gender Roles in the Classroom

Thoughts on the Article | Barbara Henderson,Voices coeditor

Gender is an element of identity that young children are working hard to understand. It is besides a topic that early childhood teachers are not e'er sure how best to address.

It's non surprising, then, that Jamie Solomon's commodity is the third teacher research written reportVoices of Practitioners has published that focuses directly on gender, joining manufactures from Daitsman (2011) and Ortiz, Ferrell, Anderson, Cain, Fluty, Sturzenbecker, & Matlock (2014). Jamie Solomon's teacher enquiry demonstrates how pedagogy that takes a critical opinion on gender stereotyping is a social justice upshot because the operation of femininity still maps direct onto disparities in opportunity within our lodge.

Further, she suggests how the male/female gender binary remains a default perspective and suggests how a more inclusive view of the gender spectrum can raise and inform our practice and worldview. Her work interprets instances that arose naturally in her teaching, and it displays how teacher inquiry is simultaneously a study of our professional and our personal selves.

During the past 10 years of education in the early babyhood field, I have observed young children as they develop ideas nearly gender identity. I soon came to understand gender expression every bit a larger social justice issue, realizing how external influences were already at work inside the preschool classroom, impacting children'south interactions and choices for play and exploration.

This matter became a cracking priority in my professional person life, leading me to wait for ways to advocate for change. Some of this eagerness stemmed from my own frustrations about gender inequity and how, as a woman, I take felt express, misunderstood, and pressured past societal constructs. These personal experiences inspired me to help further discussions about gender development within the early childhood field so that, 1 day, young children might abound up feeling less burdened by unfair social expectations and rules.

Teaching preschooI for six years at a progressive school, I was able to engage in ongoing learning opportunities, including observation and reflection. The school's emergent curriculum approach required me to pay close attending to the children's play in order to build the curriculum and create environments based on their evolving interests.

Early one semester, while on a nature field trip, I noticed great enthusiasm coming from a small group that consisted mostly of girls. They attempted to "make a bivouac" using sticks and logs. Subsequently observing several other similar play scenarios and listening to their discussions, I began building a curriculum based on the children'south evolving interests. I started by offering opportunities to encourage this inquiry—for example, through drawing activities and providing tools to more closely explore the properties of wood. Several weeks later, I was gratified to meet that among those most deeply engaged in our emerging curricular focus on wood, fire, and camping, the majority continued to exist girls. The girls' behavior and interests involved characteristics historically categorized as masculine: joyfully getting dirty, doing hard physical piece of work (in this case with hand tools), and being motivated past a perceived sense of danger acted out in their play—for instance, pretending that a burn down might erupt at any moment.

These heady observations prompted me to investigate how a particular curriculum might encourage and support children to deport exterior of society's gender constructs. My understanding of gender influences built over time; each year I noticed the power and presence of these influences in the classroom.

These questions guided my written report:

• How can I offering a curriculum that provides children with more opportunities for acting outside of traditional gender roles?
• How tin can I encourage and back up children who wish to behave outside of traditional gender roles?
• How can I foster increasingly flexible thinking near gender amidst 4- and 5-twelvemonth-old children?

The following study highlights excerpts not only from our major emergent project on camping and firemaking, simply also from examples drawn from all of my teaching experiences that spring semester.

Literature review

Young children are continually making sense of their world, assimilating novel information and modifying their theories forth the way. Most influences in the lives of young children—both human and environmental—reinforce existing stereotypes (Ramsey 2004).

Without prominent caring adults helping them consider perspectives that challenge the status quo, children, left to their own devices, tend to develop notions that conform with stereotypes (Ramsey 2004). If children are regularly exposed to images, actions, people, and words that counter stereotypes—for example through books, photographs, stories, and office models—they are probable to modify and expand on their narrow theories (Brill & Pepper 2008).

Thus, educators of young children should offer their student different perspectives, including those that counter society'due south confined constructs, to let children access to a range of roles, expressions, and identities (Valente 2011). Without such efforts, we stymie young children'southward development, keeping them from realizing the extent of their potential.

During this teacher research projection, I found many examples of girls crossing traditional gender role boundaries merely only a few examples involving boys. Some researchers believe this phenomenon, a common finding in gender studies, results from our male-dominated civilisation, in which existence male or having male person characteristics is associated with power, opportunity, and prestige (Daitsman 2011).

Many young boys demonstrate sensation of these desirable qualities and maybe worry virtually losing such advantages if they were to cross gender lines. Accordingly, educators must accept an agile role in providing both boys and girls counternarratives, and helping children question the condition quo. Forman and Fyfe (2012) show faith in our man capacity to evolve, describing our understandings of the globe as malleable. They write, "Nosotros agree that noesis is gradually constructed past becoming each other'due south student, by taking an inquiry stance toward each other's constructs, and by sincere attempts to assimilate or reconcile each other'due south initial perspective" (247).

My goal is that this enquiry will prompt educators to work on softening the system of gender rules that surrounds and governs our children. As Chocolate-brown and Jones (2001) explicate, "Changes in attitudes will not be achieved until sure fundamental dichotomies, which currently regulate aspects of classroom life, take been shifted" (143).

Methods

This study took place at a progressive San Francisco Bay Expanse preschool offering a total­ twenty-four hours, twelvemonth-round program. The school serves 2 i/2 - to 5 one/two-year­ olds. I conducted the study in my classroom of twenty-one 4- and 5-year-olds.

The children were from diverse backgrounds racially, culturally, and socioeconomically and represented a wide range of family compositions. While all 21 children in my class were observed during the research process, particular children and groups of children became more visible in the data for various reasons. Some children stood out to me as particularly conforming or nonconforming to traditional gender roles, as compared to their peers. Alternatively, I also focused on cases where I felt I had witnessed a child break from their typical role or gender expression. I was the lead teacher and worked aslope and collaborated with two coteachers.

During the spring semester when this report was conducted, the children spent nigh of the morning hours in unstructured play time with the choice of working indoors or outdoors. Nosotros also spent at least one hr of every morn engaged in more structured activities, including circle time. The afternoons as well included choices for indoor and outdoor play. Weekly field trips had long been integral to the school'due south plan, so my class left the campus each Wednesday to commence on a local run a risk together.

Starting time this study in the Spring, I benefited from having established relationships with the children over the first v months of the school year. By the time I began this teacher inquiry, I had met with their parents during fall conferences and spent countless hours observing the children, connecting with them, learning their idiosyncrasies, and edifice trust. In fact, I had already come to know many of these children the year prior when preschoolers from various classrooms intermingled while playing in our shared yard.

My data sources included field notes and reflective notes, video and photos, and weekly journaling. The field notes generally consisted of my observations, which were recorded during natural discussions and spontaneous events. Afterwards leaving the classroom I revisited the field notes to fill in contextual holes or other missing information. Fully detailed, my field notes offered vivid samples that I could use to finer recall experiences for analysis. I believe in many cases I reproduced conversations accurately. At other times, I captured more of the period of an event. Excerpts from my field notes, in the upcoming Findings section, reflect this range of particular.

My analysis uses a theoretical lens suggested past Rogoff (2003), which holds that human thinking and beliefs should be understood within its item sociocultural context, that is to say an environment greatly influences those who live and learn within it and vice versa. Thus, the data is viewed in consideration of situational factors such as structured versus unstructured play, children'southward varied personalities, and larger societal influences like the media. My analysis also includes self-reflection, equally I continually questioned my views on gender, knowing that my data had been gathered through my personal feminist lens.

The data collected—notes and images capturing young children's expressions, beliefs, and interactions—was examined for prove of gendered thinking and possible influences that caused it. After kickoff organizing my data chronologically, I proceeded to get through it, jotting down one to 5 words to describe each information sample. Moving slowly, I regularly returned to previous samples, making comparisons between records and reevaluating the descriptions I was making. As new words or "codes" came to mind, I again returned to previous data samples to determine whether this concept was visible throughout the data. Thus, the process connected, moving forward and backward to compare, reevaluate, confirm new patterns, and then review.

Next, I studied my listing of codes and pulled those that seemed nigh encompassing to serve every bit overarching themes. The three themes that resulted, in relation to gender, were (1) influences of materials and teacher expectations; (2) children's want and search for power; and (3) expressions and beliefs illustrating children's state of listen and development. In the following section I explore these themes, illustrating each with supporting data excerpts and my analysis of them.

Findings

Influences of materials and teacher expectations

Many factors influence children's learning experiences in the early babyhood classroom. This first theme examines how the bachelor materials—whether closed or open-ended—might guide the children's work and interactions with 1 another.

I primarily focus on the props and tools that I, the teacher, provided the children, the intention behind the materials offered, and my expectations on how they might be used. Of course other compounding factors should be considered here as well. For case, how our school'southward philosophy plays out in our classroom, the physical environment, and the emergent curriculum topics we teachers have chosen. Such factors combine to create a stage upon which the children and teachers act.

Information collected on two different days revealed contrasting behavior among the children.
The first excerpt focuses on two girls exploring new materials inspired by our emergent unit on wood, camping, and fire. During this play they assume less conventional female roles.

In the second sample, the subjects of my observation include three boys whom I observed treatment babe dolls—props available throughout the year in our classroom—in a mode congruent with stereotypical gender norms.

Also included in this excerpt is a daughter who was seeking to collaborate with me while I watched the boys. The first data sample stood out to me during assay and I have included it for the reader because it caused me to consider how some curricular materials might offer children opportunities for acting outside of traditional gender roles. In contrast, the 2nd sample made me think more securely about the types of materials that nosotros typically offer children (due east.g., babe dolls), how many of these play props have strong associations with only i gender, and how open-ended materials might exist less limiting for a child'southward self-expression and learning. (See "Field Notes, February 12, 2014.")

When the children approached the camping ground activity tabular array, I gave very footling teaching. Instead I explained I had seen them working with wood recently, and I wanted to requite them more time and tools for their investigation. Whenever I share such observations virtually children's work and express curiosity, it seems to validate their interests and encourage their exploration. The grouping readily experimented. The activeness was approachable, open-concluded, and afforded a safe identify to try out new ideas, actions, and roles.

The girls appeared empowered and stayed with their work for as long as possible. Their verbal expressions resembled those I had heard more often from boys in my classroom. For instance, Caitlyn and Stella deepened their voices noticeably equally they loudly delighted in each discovery, proverb, "OHHH" and "WHOA!" Apparently, this natural wood paired with carpentry tools served every bit entry vehicles into the vigorous roles that the girls assumed.

The logs were similar those they had been gathering on our field trip when they tried to make fire, while the hand tools suggested new ways to transform the woods. Something almost this scenario manifestly captivated them, as the girls' involvement in working with wood and dramatic play related to campfires and camping connected over the next several months.

In organizing this activity, I had expected more boys to exist drawn to the wood and hand tools. On reflection, I run across these expectations were based on my own gender-biased assumptions. Instead, this activity attracted more girls, providing them the opportunity to further explore an involvement exterior of traditional female roles. Such traditional roles are reinforced when girls part-play motherhood, princesses, or female characters commonly found in popular movies and other media—activities far more than common in my classroom than these girls' work with wood.

On a separate occasion, much later in the school year, I found myself fatigued to a group of three boys working in the dramatic play area—Robby, Peter, and Mason—during unstructured play fourth dimension. I noticed that they had picked upwards the baby dolls, and I was intrigued, every bit I hadn't seen them use the dolls earlier. They had also brought over a curl of record.

Perching on a nearby stepstool, I grabbed my camera, a notepad and pen, and began recording. Meanwhile, I was slightly distracted by Ella standing adjacent to me, as she simultaneously began sharing her future plans for maternity. (Run into "Field Notes, April 11, 2014"—the following dialogues are presented side by side, as they took place.)

These data samples stood out to me because of the coincidence of these 2 concurrent stereotypical portrayals of gender roles. While observing the group, I had perceived Ella'southward dialogue as confusing, unrelated to what I was in the process of capturing. In the moment, I was not fully focused on her thoughts and did not consider them significant to the state of affairs. When I later reflected, yet, I realized that Ella had noticed I was observing this group of boys and their rough play with the dolls. Looking to connect with me, she offered her perspective on babies and caregiving.

Upon reflection, the boys' behavior reminded me of teacher researcher Aaron Neimark'due south description of his preschool boys playing what he called "basketball babies" (2012). Through his studies, Neimark (2012) noticed how immature children often employ objects in silly ways that diverge from the expected or intended apply—for case, pretending that basketballs were babies—and that this sense of creativity and comedy is an important component of peer culture.

While at that place seemed to be an chemical element of humor as the boys played with the baby dolls during my observation, I further wondered about possible gender-related influences that may have acquired them to collaborate with the props in this style. Though connecting the babies to plates and flight them around was a artistic idea—a divergent 1 from how I had expected children to apply dolls—I felt that their gender role expressions guided their actions more than than simple imagination. The girls in my course didn't play with the dolls ofttimes, only when they did, their play was typically nurturing and gentle. I wondered if the boys had a tacit understanding that playing with dolls in a school setting is only adequate if information technology is conspicuously distinct from the typical female version of such play (Brown & Jones 2001).

I find myself caught betwixt a feminist perspective and that of the progressive instructor I sought to be: one who embraces each child'south unique interpretation of an action or thought (Brown & Jones 2001). The gender roles that children assume, as defined past our culture, affect their play, from determining their interests to deciding how to play and how to make utilise of props (Meier & Henderson 2007). The information samples in this section suggest that the type of materials offered to children may provoke them to assume roles that are more or less stereotypical and could thereby influence their social interactions and learning. For case, because babe dolls are socially constructed as feminine toys, they are less attainable for young boys.

With an understood purpose for caregiving role-play, young girls can experience comfortable behaving in line with their stereotypical gender role while playing with dolls. Boys, on the other hand, are maybe implicitly excluded from using these toys, lest they should human action exterior of their traditional gender role. If they do employ such materials, I have observed that their play usually deviates from the expected purpose. As a outcome, I discover such gendered toys to exist limiting for both young girls and boys. In contrast, materials that are less gendered and more than open up-concluded—for example, natural materials such as sticks, pinecones, shells—encourage more inventiveness, stimulate imagination and allow for countless interpretations. Accordingly, open-ended materials are more probable to further children's cognitive, physical and artistic development (NAEYC, northward.d.).

Children's desire and search for ability

This second theme explores the homo want for control and power. I noticed that the children sought and expressed power, for example, using information technology to exclude or include others, to influence a situation in their favor, or to feel strong. As with the starting time theme, the key data samples occurred on different days. I chose examples that involved one child beyond two similar events: first in a position of subordination and then in a place of power. The showtime effect took place at schoolhouse and the second on a field trip.

Both events occurred during structured playtime and both observations involved a group of three children—two had already established their play when a third approached and tried to join in. As teacher researcher Chris Taaffee (2012) establish, such triangulated situations oftentimes prove challenging for the third child. The excerpts from the 2 field notes (See "Field Notes, February 24, 2014" and "Field Notes, April 9, 2014") demonstrate complex desires for power and how children learn approaches for exercising command.

In the field notes from February 24, Violet used her knowledge of gender constructs and her understanding of her friend Cora'south somewhat conforming gender expression to control the situation. Violet did not offer Cora any office, similar a sister or mom office, other than a monster. She knew that playing the monster is a less conventional choice for a girl, and thus, a choice that Cora would probably non accept. Cora seemed to be penalized here for acting within her predictable gender role, which I found thoughtprovoking, as interim within ane'due south gender function is oft considered desirable and conducive to credence. Yet in this case, Cora'due south preference to limited female gender conventionally gave Violet an piece of cake way to exclude Cora.

More than than a calendar month subsequently, on Apr 9, I was fascinated to run across Cora try a similar tactic with Lillian. This time, however, the interaction played out quite differently. Lillian readily seized the opportunity to get the monster, and I was pleased and surprised that Cora and Eddie were completely open to her involvement. While Violet's intentions in the showtime scenario seemed clear to me, I was uncertain virtually Cora's motivation. I had observed that dissimilar Cora, Lillian assumed nonconforming roles on a regular basis. If Cora really didn't want Lillian to bring together the pair, she would have had to make a different kind of proposal.

Both scenarios demonstrate the complexity of young children'due south interpersonal relationships within the sociocultural contexts influencing their lives. I and many other teachers accept observed endless interactions involving a small grouping of children trying to protect their harmonious play from outsiders who could potentially disrupt the often fragile unity of young friendships (Neimark 2012; Taaffe 2012). I take witnessed children employ various strategies to exclude others and now realize how oft they use their understanding of gender and culture to successfully block others from the play and determine who is permitted membership to the group (Brown & Jones 2001).

Similar Cora, some children tin can be understood as behaving from within a dynamic process that includes learning from peers and the media, experimenting with ideas, and making sense of gender roles and relationships.

Expressions and behavior illustrating child'southward state of mind and development

I have noticed that around the age of four, children tin become resolute in their thinking and uncompromising on their theories about the world, as they try to organize experiences and concepts into neat, often dichotomous categories. The post-obit data sample typifies the kind of shortsighted perspectives children might adopt. Left unchallenged, these early views may be reinforced and become more than permanent convictions. (See "Field Notes, Feb 25, 2014.")

Addie has two younger brothers, one of whom is a very active 3-year-erstwhile and, according to Addie, "causes a lot of problems." I thus attributed Addie's concern mostly to her experiences at dwelling. Notwithstanding, I wondered about her belief that boys don't like her. Where did this conviction come from? Teddy speedily disavowed Addie's notion, and I noted how eager he was not to be implicated in an unfair supposition made about his gender.

In an effort to counter such gender stereotyping, my coteachers and I began implementing activities to acquaint children across genders, such as coed lunch seating arrangements and partnered projects. We also began performing childauthored plays in which crossgender roles were common (Paley [1984] 2014).

Discussion and implications

I began this written report wondering how I might offer young children more opportunities to act outside of traditional gender roles. In the end, I realized that the children were working through complex ideas about the world. Our curriculum on fire and camping had encouraged some girls to step exterior of gender roles, but it didn't have a widening event on all children—no single approach would. My findings showed that nosotros needed a broader arroyo to advance children's ideas about identity.

Appropriately, I selected the post-obit strategies to modify my exercise and undertake future teacher enquiry:

• nurture flexible thinking across all situations
• find opportunities for children to step outside their comfort zones in regard to activities, peer relationships, and personal challenges
• foster advocacy skills in oneself and others

If people have the capacity to consider unconventional ideas and bend their thinking, our interactions with i another might wait very unlike and be healthier for individual identity evolution. Furthermore, I realized that exploring and agreement gender identity shouldn't be concentrated on the experiences of a select few, such every bit the girls who were then interested in the camping project. Rather, my goal should be to expand anybody'due south mind, thereby making more room for children to limited themselves individually across the identity spectrum.

While this research provides insight into the processes of children's identity evolution, my findings are based upon i report I conducted independently over a spring semester. My feminist lens and personal perspectives influence all areas of my written report—from gathering data to analyzing for interpretations, and deriving conclusions.

Withal, such subjectivity is inherent in teacher research and considered an advantage of the methodology, as it offers an honest insider's perspective of a practitioner in action (Meier & Henderson 2007).

Conclusion

According to Meier and Henderson (2007), "Since early childhood is the foundation for young children's views and experiences with getting along with i another, and with understanding and taking a stance toward the world of relationships, a focus in teacher research on social justice will deepen our graphic symbol/social curriculum" (178). I began this enquiry project to have action on a social justice consequence, but, over the 4 months of this study, about of my work focused on first making sense of what I was seeing. I concluded upwards generating more questions than answers. Yet, information technology was this process of questioning that helped me to deduce some useful ideas for how all-time to keep identity piece of work with young children.

I hope this study encourages other early childhood teachers to question gender issues that they might have otherwise accepted at face value. Looking critically at gender can allow teachers to accept broader perceptions and interpretations of daily classroom events, thereby assuasive children more space as they develop their gender identities.

My information shows the complexity of this topic, including compounding factors, influences, and considerations. It likewise demonstrates how pervasive socialized ideas well-nigh gender roles and expression are in our lives. While my findings need to be considered within the study'southward limitations, I feel that I take successfully achieved a personal goal of sharing my feminist thinking with a larger audition within the field of early on childhood education.

Appropriately, this study gives voice to an of import issue, and its value lies in my efforts to question the world, ease rigid thinking, and counter oppressive constructs (Valente 2011). Hopefully my teacher research "charges and challenges us to renew our commitment to an agile, inclusive feminist struggle" (hooks 1994, 74).

---

Field Notes: Gender Identity and Expression in the Early on Babyhood Classroom

Field Notes | February 12, 2014

While on a field trip, a co-ed grouping of children worked together gathering sticks to build a burn down. Several of the girls led the endeavour, directing others to assemble more grass, sticks, and modest logs. Meanwhile, the grouping discussed their theories about stoking a fire. Several days later, I observed many of the same children using trowels to bit away at bark while trying to "make fire" in the school garden. Thus, I decided to offer the class different types of wood, child-safe saws, and sandpaper during small grouping time in the classroom and see who was interested. I stayed close by to ensure that the tools were used in a safe manner. Four children, Stella, Caitlyn, Anna, and Robby, joined the activity when I invited them over, and I was pleased to see the three girls in this group so enthusiastic to use the tools and experiment with the wood.

Photos capture the children's intensity and concentration and, thus, their interest in the activity. Stella and Caitlyn focused attentively on the wood as they worked solidly for over 35 minutes and stopped only because they were asked to clean upward for lunch. Earlier leaving the table, Stella exclaimed, "I've never washed anything so serious!"

Field Notes | April eleven, 2014

Robby (R), Peter (P) and Stonemason (G) gather around a small tabular array in the dramatic play surface area, while I, instructor Jamie (J), watch. Mason watches with interest while Peter and Robby play with the two infant dolls, which they have brought over.

R: Rip the head off.
P: No—you lot do information technology.
J: Interruption and think, you guys. [They all await up and over, now realizing that I'g watching.]
P: We're not actually strong enough. Shiiiiing! [P pokes a stick into the doll'south eye.]
R: Watch this. [R bangs the plate on the baby and then proceeds to record the baby to the plate. P follows his pb. The two boys fly the babies around the room, having connected them to the plastic plates, which seemed to serve as the dolls' wings.]

Field notes | Apr 11, 2014

Ella (E) leans in shut to me (J), ostensibly wanting to chat, as she then often does. She shares the following idea with me, while I try my hardest to focus on the group of boys. Later a couple of minutes, I realize how similarly meaningful Ella's monologue is to my study on gender.

E: I'grand gonna be a mommy when I grow up.
J: Oh yeah? [I raise my eyebrows, hoping that my response won't provoke her too much, equally I attempt to return my focus to the other children.]
Eastward: I'm gonna have one infant, because information technology'southward hard to carry 120, 120, and 120 babies!
J: [I smiling]

Field Notes | February 24, 2014

Ella and Violet, 4 and v years onetime, respectively, are playing house. It's clear that they desire to maintain their harmonious 2-person play, as Violet tells Cora, "I just want to play with Ella right now."

Unremarkably, I would take respected the wish of two children to play lone, but because Violet and Ella spend the majority of their time playing together, without the inclusion of others, I decided to button and see if they could detect a way to include Cora. "Tin you lot think of a manner for Cora to play?" I enquire.

Violet offers, "She can be the monster."

Cora immediately rejects the offer; she wants to be the babe. But, according to Violet, in that location are no babies in this game and the only possible role is that of a monster. Cora resigns herself to finding a different playmate, and Violet and Ella keep their game, uninterrupted.

Field Notes | April ix, 2014

Cora and Eddie are playing together while on our field trip in a wooded park. They walk closely side-past-side, talking quietly, every so ofttimes looking behind. Lillian follows after them and no affair how many times they alter course, she remains several feet behind them, yet non really making her intentions known. Finally Eddie bursts out, "Yous tin can't play!" and Cora adds, "Stop following us!"

I move closer, intending to ask Cora and Eddie to tell Lillian their feelings in a kinder way. As before long every bit Cora sees that I've noticed the conflict, she quickly offers Lillian an alternative: "You lot tin can be the monster."

Lillian smiles and begins contorting her confront and body to assume the office. Cora adds, "And you lot can chase usa!" Lillian shows them she'southward fix by creeping forrad just as Cora and Eddie take off in the opposite direction, screaming happily!

Field Notes | February 25, 2014

Four-yr-sometime Addie (A) approaches me (J) and shows me a precious stone she is carrying in a special container. Her classmate Teddy (T) is playing nearby. I ask about it, and Addie explains why she is keeping her jewel in the container:

A: . . . the boys might pause it. [A looks down at gem while talking]
J: The boys might break it? What makes yous think that?
A: Because boys don't like jewels. [A continues to await down; T looks upward from work and toward A]
J: Is there a reason why y'all recall boys don't like jewels?
A: Because they don't similar me. [Looking downwardly]
T: I like you lot. [Said seriously and honestly]

---

References

Brill, S., & R. Pepper. 2008.The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals. San Francisco, CA: Cleis Press.

Brown, T., & L. Jones. 2001.Action Research and Postmodernism: Congruence and Critique. Conducting Educational Research series. Philadelphia, FA: Open Academy Printing.

Daitsman, J. 2011. "Exploring Gender Identity in Early Childhood Through Story Dictation and Dramatization."Voices of Practitioners fourteen. www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/Publications/VOP_Daitsman_Final.pdf.

Forman, G., & B. Fyfe. 2012. "Negotiated Learning Through Design, Documentation, and Discourse." Chap. fourteen inThe Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Experience in Transformation, 3rd ed., eds. C. Edwards, L.Gandini, & K. Forman, 247-71. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.

hooks, b. 1994.Teaching to Transgress: Education every bit the Practice of Liberty. New York: Routledge.

Liang, Y. 2015. "A Journey of Journals: Promoting Child-Centered Second­ Linguistic communication Conquering in Preschool."Voices of Practitioners ten (two): 45-58. world wide web.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/vop/VOP_Summer_2015_joumal.pdf.

Meier, D.R, &B. Henderson. 2007-Learning From Young Children in the Classroom: The Art and Science of Teacher Research. New York: Teachers College Press.

NAEYC (National Association for the Didactics of Young Children). N.d. "What the Research Says: Gender­ Typed Toys." world wide web.naeyc.org/content/what-research-says-gender-typed-toys.

Neimark, A 2012. "'Do Yous Want to Run across Something Goofy?' Peer Culture in the Preschool Yard." InOur Inquiry, Our Practice: Undertaking, Supporting, and Learning From Early Childhood Teacher Research(ers), eds. 1000. Perry, B. Henderson, & D.R. Meier, 53-64. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children. world wide web.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/vop/Voices_NeimarkGoofy.pdf.

Ortiz, A, D. Ferrell, J. Anderson, L. Cain, North. Fluty, S. Sturzenbecker, & T. Matlock. 2014. "Teacher Enquiry on Boys' Literacy in One Unproblematic School."Voices of Practitioners 9 (1):ane-nineteen. www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/images jvoices/9_ortiz%20v9-i.

Paley, Five.G. 2014.Boys and Girls: Superheroes in the Doll Comer. Chicago: University of Chicago Printing.

Ramsey, P.Thousand. 2004.Pedagogy and Learning in a Diverse Globe. tertiary ed. New York: Teachers College Printing.

Rogoff, B. 2003.The Cultural Nature of Human Development. New York: Oxford University Press.

Taaffe, C. 2012. "Two's Company, Three'southward a Crowd: Peer Interactions in a Preschool Social Triangle." Chap. three inOur Enquiry, Our Practice: Undertaking, Supporting and Learning From Early Childhood Instructor Enquiry(ers), eds. 1000. Perry, B. Henderson, & D.R. Meier, 21-35. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Immature Children.

Valente, J. Thou. 2011.D/ Deaf and d/ Dumb: A Portrait of a Deaf Child as a Young Superhero. Inability Studies in Education series. New York: Peter Lang.

---

Photographs: courtesy of the author

bainesanisho.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/jul2016/gender-identity

Share this post