Men are traditionally portrayed as being successful in sports, and male teachers in physical activities are portrayed as successful teachers. How do female teachers perceive the gender role of kindergarten teachers in early childhood physical activities? Using hegemonic masculinity theory as an analytical tool, semi-structured interviews with…

Gender representation in children's books may influence young children's formation of the gender-equity concept. Previous studies show a male protagonist overrepresentation in US children's books. This study analyzed 956 Chinese children's books to investigate if similar patterns of gender representation exist. Research Findings: Binomial logistic…

In this exploratory study, we examined the ways gender is communicated, experienced, and constructed in nature-based education (NBE), which involved 30 h of fieldwork at one private outdoor preschool and two public elementary school garden clubs. In our analysis of the data, we found four sites where gender socialization happens in NBE: materials,…

This article examines how state prekindergarten (PreK) leaders in the United States believe their gender, race, and the status of the field influenced their work experiences. Qualitative methods were used to collect data from 10 state PreK leaders through two semistructured interviews. Leaders worked in different states and the majority identified…

This paper discusses advantages and disadvantages of being a researcher in a familiar setting. This study was conducted in a nursery in Turkey. In ethnographic research, conducting research in a familiar setting plays an important role in collecting and analysing data. Familiarisation with participants and settings is associated with 'insiderness'…

In the global context, male participation in early childhood education is notably low, with only 3% of the workforce in mainland China comprising male professionals. This study delves into the intrinsic motivation of male kindergarten teachers, employing the framework of self-determination theory. Qualitative research, comprising face-to-face…

This qualitative study investigated the perceptions of masculinity and fatherhood of male school leaders and their perceptions associated with leadership practice. We used purposive sampling to recruit male Israeli school leaders for participation in the study. We collected the data by semi-structured interviews, which we then subjected to…

In this study, we argue that touch is a way of producing gender in preschool and our aim is to explore different kinds of matters that intersect with gendered touch practices in this context. Our theoretical starting points draw on the performativity of gender and the discursively constructed touch practices of early childhood educators. We…

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…

This paper examines Kurdish preschool children's construction of gender roles. This research uses the concept of funds of knowledge to analyse how children draw on household and community knowledge in constructing gender roles in a nursery, Turkey. The data includes participant observations, audio and video recordings of interactions between the…

This study explores the ways in which a group of preschool children enacted gendered social and occupational roles in their imaginary play. The research question interrogates the ways children reproduce or produce new meanings about the social and occupational roles of being boys and girls during unstructured play in the play-house corner in a…

This study investigated the extent to which teacher and staff's gender role beliefs differ from the U.S. population and such beliefs are associated with their preference of leader gender in a P-8 Midwestern school through the lens of Bandura's (1971) Social Learning Theory. Teachers and staff who participated in this study responded to the survey…

Pretend play is common in childhood. Yet by age 4, children shown pretend and real activities in a book said they would choose to do the real activity over the pretend one. The present studies extended this research, examining children's actual behavior in laboratory and school settings (Study 1, n = 32, M = 59.32 months; and Study 2, n = 16, M…

This paper aims to open up the rationales that are used to argue for an increase in male participation in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce. Two theoretical concepts are highlighted and compared: gender balance and gender flexibility. An ethnographic study was conducted in one unusual nursery that has five male workers, using…

The aim of this study is to examine the perceptions of preschool teachers on gender roles and classroom practices in a comparative manner. Qualitative research method was used in this study. The participants of the study are preschool teachers working in Turkey and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. In this study, convenience sampling method was…