Syfte
The study investigates how children influence and construct gender in free play in kindergartens with different local contexts. The researcher is interested in both the children’s choices and the pedagogical practices in which play takes place. The research questions are: 1) How, and with what materials and toys, is free play organised? 2) What choices do the children make during free play (who to play with and with what materials), and what do the kindergarten teachers think about these choices?
Resultat
The results show that choices made in play are strongly linked to norms and what is offered in the various kindergarten contexts. Two different patterns of play are prominent: gender-stereotypical choices, which are mainly divided into boy and girl groups, and mixed choices without any clear gender division. The researcher believes that free play provides good opportunities to address tensions between gender equality and kindergarten teacher intervention. In this way, children can influence play without coming into conflict with ideas of gender equality.
Design
The researcher participated in everyday life in six kindergartens for a period of one year. All the kindergartens were municipal, two of them were located in rural areas and four were located in large cities. Two of the city kindergartens were located in areas with many immigrant families. The other two were located in areas with high average incomes. The data material consists of field notes from participatory observations and group interviews with children between the ages of four and six and kindergarten teachers.
Referenser
Hjelmér, C. (2020). “Free play, free choices? – Influence and construction of gender in preschools in different local contexts”. Education Inquiry, 11(2):144-158.