Introduction
When contemplating the public school system, gender is a little taught or thought about aspect of education for children. While important throughout all years of education, preschool is the beginning of formal children’s education and it is argued that children begin understanding and acting on gender as young as one and half (Rainey & Rust, 1999). Children learn through reinforcement early and quickly about what it means to be a girl (passive, quiet, polite) and what it means to be a boy (strong, intelligent, loud). Educators and teaching materials enforce this in preschools. However, it is possible to analyze and overturn gender through a feminist and cross-cultural lens, specifically considering the role of play and the role …show more content…
Some families choose to have one or both parents stay at home with their children, instead educating them themselves. Other families chose preschool as a form of childcare or even just as a method of socialization for their child to prepare them for formal education starting at age five. Before discussing the gender in a preschool context, it is necessary to have a quick understanding of what early childhood education accomplishes. As discussed by Singer (2015), quality early childhood education is play-based and child-centred, as play and learning are closely related in young children. Additionally, Butler (n.d.) outlines that there are five major areas of development in children and that these areas need to be fostered in preschools: physical development of motor skills, intellectual development, linguistic development, emotion development of regulation, and social development including sharing, cooperation, and collaboration. When considering the vast and quick development of young children, it is necessary to also analyze their perception and embodiment of gender. Rainey & Rust (1999) argue that children begin to understand and act on gender differences as young as one and half. Further, they select and choose activities and prefer playmates to be of the same gender because of positive and negative reinforcement from the adults in their lives (Rainey & Rust, 1999). Concepts of gender are only further instilled as children get older and enter broader society, so an analysis of the role of preschool is vital since it is often a child’s first experience with people outside of their immediate
When contemplating the public school system, gender is a little taught or thought about aspect of education for children. While important throughout all years of education, preschool is the beginning of formal children’s education and it is argued that children begin understanding and acting on gender as young as one and half (Rainey & Rust, 1999). Children learn through reinforcement early and quickly about what it means to be a girl (passive, quiet, polite) and what it means to be a boy (strong, intelligent, loud). Educators and teaching materials enforce this in preschools. However, it is possible to analyze and overturn gender through a feminist and cross-cultural lens, specifically considering the role of play and the role …show more content…
Some families choose to have one or both parents stay at home with their children, instead educating them themselves. Other families chose preschool as a form of childcare or even just as a method of socialization for their child to prepare them for formal education starting at age five. Before discussing the gender in a preschool context, it is necessary to have a quick understanding of what early childhood education accomplishes. As discussed by Singer (2015), quality early childhood education is play-based and child-centred, as play and learning are closely related in young children. Additionally, Butler (n.d.) outlines that there are five major areas of development in children and that these areas need to be fostered in preschools: physical development of motor skills, intellectual development, linguistic development, emotion development of regulation, and social development including sharing, cooperation, and collaboration. When considering the vast and quick development of young children, it is necessary to also analyze their perception and embodiment of gender. Rainey & Rust (1999) argue that children begin to understand and act on gender differences as young as one and half. Further, they select and choose activities and prefer playmates to be of the same gender because of positive and negative reinforcement from the adults in their lives (Rainey & Rust, 1999). Concepts of gender are only further instilled as children get older and enter broader society, so an analysis of the role of preschool is vital since it is often a child’s first experience with people outside of their immediate