How does gendering matter in preschool science

Author
Günther-Hanssen, A., Danielsson, A. T. & Andersson, K.
Year
2020

Purpose

The study investigates how kindergarten children’s exploration of scientific phenomena is linked to gendered processes, and how the kindergarten’s indoor environment affects these processes. The research questions are: 1) How does the kindergarten’s indoor environment help create gendered processes as well as different opportunities to explore scientific phenomena? 2) How do certain scientific phenomena help form children, their bodies and their relationships with each other?

Result

The analysis shows how children’s identities and scientific explorations are both made possible and limited by the material-discursive environment of the kindergarten. The researchers believe these results show that kindergarten teachers cannot rely on all indoor environments, activities, choices or topics being (gender)neutral.

Design

The sample consists of 25 five-year-olds (eleven girls and 14 boys) and three kindergarten teachers in a Swedish kindergarten. Children and adults were observed over a period of five months during which the researchers visited the kindergarten twice a week. The observations focused on the children’s play and exploration in relation to the kindergarten’s physical indoor environment.

References

Günther-Hanssen, A., Danielsson, A. T. & Andersson, K. (2020). “How does gendering matter in preschool science”. Gender and Education, 32(5):608-625.