This blog post is based on a talk that was initially presented at EECERA 2024: Developing sustainable early childhood systems: Comparisons, contexts and the cognoscenti.

Research has been undertaken into the role that parents, early childhood settings and early childhood practitioners play in reinforcing and challenging gender discriminatory practices and stereotypes. 

 Indeed, within Britain, the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Guidance (2024) sets out that all children within early childhood settings should experience equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practices. This guiding principle can be observed by walking through early childhood settings and observing images, books and resources which challenge discriminatory practices, and by talking to practitioners about how they enable all children to access all resources and areas within the setting. 

However, despite the provision of gender equitable early childhood environments and setting equality policies which set out that all children shall have access to all toys and resources and the steps that the setting has in place to reduce discriminatory practices, it is clear from observing young children that they are very aware of gender norms and stereotypes.

Analysis of the data I collected during my PhD study identified a range of methods that the children used to reinforce gender stereotypes and norms with their peers during their play. These methods included:

These methods were used in different ways depending on the context the children were in. For instance, the children used some of the methods in a subtle manner when they were inside and there was an increased chance that a practitioner may be in proximity. However, they would use the method in a more direct manner when they were outside and there was less of a chance that a practitioner would be close.

Additionally, it was identified that the children would often use more than one method within the same interaction to ensure that their peer received a clear message about gender appropriate/expected behaviour within that setting.

When we think about coercive behaviours, we don't think about young children. However, the participants described being aware of the risk of being punished or excluded by other children within the setting if they broke the setting gender norms.

During video-stimulated conversations with the children, they described how they changed their behaviour, or excluded children that they wanted to play with because they were not prepared to be excluded by their peers.

The risk of exclusion was so strong for many of the participants that they would not risk breaking the setting gender norms even when their gender enforcing peers were absent, just in case someone mentioned it to them when they returned.

This method of reinforcement was very subtle, it was the consequence of ongoing exposure to gender policing behaviours and not a response to a single experience of gender policing.

There is plenty of literature that discusses children's gendering of the environment. For instance  Børve and Børve (2017) identified how even when children are provided with a gender neutral environment, the children will gender it themselves.

Within this research, gendered environment included some instances when groups of children took over an area of the environment that was usually identified as suitable for opposite gender children. For instance, this was seen when a group of girls took over the outdoor construction area and did not leave any space for boys to enter and play.

But the theme of gendered environment included the children's use of gender to control access to specific toys and resources, even in an non-gendered area such as the garden. Children were observed to control access to resources and to remove resources from children that they did not believe the toys were appropriate for. While there could be many explanations for this behaviour, the participants themselves explained that they had not let children have the resources because the toy was not appropriate for the gender of the the other child.

The participants use of body language to communicate gender behaviour messages included both facial expressions and whole body movement.

Participants were observed to use their body position to communicate whether a child was welcome or not. Open body language was observed when a child was welcome to play or as a means of communicating that another child had made the right choice as to who to play with. Whilst closed positions, and even turning their backs to children who were seen to be breaking gender norms were observed.

The final method identified through analysis of the data, was the children's manipulation of their play as a means of excluding or limiting the engagement of an opposite gender peer, whilst appearing to include them.

This was a very subtle method and is easy to miss. In the instances where this method was identified, it was often used by younger girls as a means of excluding an older boy and was used most often in the outside environment.

As an example, two girls were playing mum and daughter on the climbing frame when a boy walked over to them and asked to join their game. The girls agreed that he could join in and offered him the role of dad. According to Björk-Willén (2012), the role of dad is considered a high status role which means that a boy is unlikely to turn the role down. Once the children had played together for a few minutes, one of the girls said "dad's got to go to work now and I'm going to do my school work". The boy stood there for a moment and then said "I'm off to work" before leaving the climbing frame. Once the boy left, the girls continued their game from the point they had been at when he joined them.

This is a sophisticated technique that is very subtle and hard to identify. As a method, it was used in front of practitioners without raising any concern, but was also very effectively used by some of the younger children within the setting to exclude older, more dominant children.

Children are very confident in their gender knowledge and police their peers gender behaviour using a range of methods.

As many of these methods can be used by the children in a subtle way, it can be difficult for practitioners to spot when children are policing their peers or experiencing policing behaviour.

However, when asked interested, open questions about their interactions, the children were happy to share their gender beliefs. Therefore, it is important that when practitioners see something that may be a form of gender policing, it is important that they talk with the children and attempt to identify the reason for the behaviour. This will then enable the practitioners to start to challenge gender stereotyped beliefs and to reduce the impact of gender policing on children's experience within early childhood settings.

Bateman, A. & Church, A. (2017) Children's use of objects in an early years playground. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 25(1), 55-71.

Børve, H. E. & Børve, E. (2017) Rooms with gender: Physical environment and play culture in kindergarten. Early Child Development and Care, 187(5-6), 1069-1081.

Björk-Willén, P. (2012) Being doggy: Disputes embedded in preschoolers' family role-play, in Danby, S. & Theobald, M. (eds), Disputes in everyday life: Social and moral orders of children and young people. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, 119-140. 

Department for Education (2024) Early years foundation stage statutory framework: For group and school-based providers. Available online: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65aa5e42ed27ca001327b2c7/EYFS_statutory_framework_for_group_and_school_based_providers.pdf [Accessed 29/08/2024].