'Boys don’t play with girls’ Gender Boundaries in Play: An Analysis of Preschool Children's Regulation of Gendered Behaviour Across Three Settings

Kilburn, Catherine

Abstract

This thesis contributes to the contemporary discussions around the impact of gender on preschool children’s lives. Drawing on theories of young children’s gender development and Bronfenbrenner’s socio-ecological theory, this research examines the role that three and four-year-old children play in policing their peers' gender exploration across three preschool settings.
Drawing on feminist micro-ethnographic methods, this qualitative research explores the lived experiences of preschool participants. Using video-recorded observations, video-stimulated conversations and an image elicitation task, the participants’ knowledge and experience of gender stereotypes and policing were illuminated. The data were analysed using critical conversation analysis which combined aspects of conversation analysis and critical discourse analysis, to enable the researcher to analyse how and why children use their communication to reinforce power and discourse.
The findings demonstrate that preschool children use a range of methods to police their peers' gender play, including manipulating their play as a way of excluding or minimising an opposite-gender peer’s inclusion. The findings highlight the saliency of gender in the lives of preschool children and the methods preschool children use to police their peers' gender behaviour, ensuring that they adhere to gender norms and stereotypes. Whilst many of the methods used within this research were subtle, the participants were aware of the risk of social exclusion if their gender behaviour did not conform to expectations. Therefore, if early childhood education aims to provide all children with an equitable experience and to challenge societal inequalities, practitioners need to be aware of the role that preschool children take in reinforcing their peers’ adherence to gender norms.
This thesis presents the following original contributions to knowledge. Firstly, preschool children’s manipulation of their play as a method of controlling their peers' gender exploration. The second contribution to knowledge is the use of video-stimulated conversations to support preschool children’s engagement in reflecting on their play and experiences. The final contribution to knowledge is the development and use of critical conversation analysis which analyses how and why preschool children use language to manipulate power.

Citation

Kilburn, C. 'Boys don’t play with girls’ Gender Boundaries in Play: An Analysis of Preschool Children's Regulation of Gendered Behaviour Across Three Settings. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4625873

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Apr 16, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: May 1, 2024
• Keywords: Education
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4625873
• Additional Information: School of Education; University of Hull
• Award Date: Mar 26, 2024