Challenging Gender Stereotypes in the Early Years: Changing the Narrative PDF
Preview Challenging Gender Stereotypes in the Early Years: Changing the Narrative
i NPFS wholeheartedly recommend the work of Susie and Barbara. Whether you are an early years parent/carer, practitioner or allied professional – they provide an incredible insight into how gender stereotypes can limit children and how we can reduce them, making positive changes to the lives and experiences of our children and young people. Margaret Wilson, Chair, The National Parent Forum of Scotland respect me, Scotland’s Anti-Bullying Service sees gender stereotyping as a critical factor in many relationship, bullying and discrimination situations. This book delivers an invalu- able resource for people who care for young children to understand why harmful attitudes towards gender stereotypes and inequalities, often emerging in the early years, can have lifelong impacts if left unchallenged. Lorraine Glass, Policy and Improvement Manager, respectme As Scotland gradually wakes up to the long-term social significance of early childhood care and education, this comprehensive and highly accessible guide to tackling gender stereo- types couldn’t be more timely. Essential reading for all early years educators. Sue Palmer, Chair, Upstart Scotland Preventing violence against women and girls should start in the early years. Susie and Barbara’s work helps practitioners understand the links between VAWG and the gender stereotypes that children are directed towards from an early age; and the significant part they can play in preventing it. Davy Thompson, Campaign Director, White Ribbon Scotland After being part of the documentary No More Boys and Girls I witnessed first-hand the impact that gender stereotypes have on our children. Despite a rise in awareness there is still much work to be done and this book is paramount to helping educators make a difference to our children at an early stage – in my experience the earlier we can teach our children about spotting and dealing with stereotypes the better. This clear, practical guide is a must own for early years educators and written by experts in their field. Graham Andre, Assistant Head at Lanesend Primary and teacher featured on No More Boys and Girls Susie and Barbara are amazing and passionate trainers, who will open your eyes through their knowledge on gender equity. Their insights into this important subject will really challenge you to reflect on and update your practice. Tracey Riseborough, Head of Kinderly Learn A clear, logical and practical approach to addressing gender and other stereotypes in early years settings and why this is so important. A must-read for anyone studying or working in the early years and all early childhood settings. Mary Beare Aust, Lecturer in Early Childhood Education, Institute of Technology Carlow ii iii CHALLENGING GENDER STEREOTYPES IN THE EARLY YEARS What does gender equity mean for early years practitioners? What are early years settings already doing to promote gender equality and why is this so important? How can we pro- vide children with a solid basis from which they can grow into people who are not limited by society’s expectations of their gender? This is a manual for every early years practitioner who wishes to expand their know- ledge and improve their practice regarding gender stereotyping in the early years. Drawing from the authors’ experience developing a public health programme tackling gender stereo- types, it explores the reasons why gender inequality is still an issue, identifies how gender inequality is perpetuated and provides a framework and practical tools to drive change. The framework includes an audit process to celebrate areas of success and to identify areas for development, alongside a host of suggestions on how to navigate tricky situations in cre- ative, respectful and effective ways. With the voices and experiences of experts and practitioners woven throughout the text, alongside key reflections and scenarios with which the reader can critically engage, Challenging Gender Stereotypes in the Early Years challenges readers to consider their own practice, drive staff awareness and make a difference to their setting. Susie Heywood and Barbara Adzajlic are public health professionals with over 15 years’ experience working on areas like mental health, gender-b ased violence, suicide prevention, behaviour change and inequalities. Together, Susie and Barbara co- created the Gender Friendly Nursery, a programme of training and accreditation supporting early learning and childcare establishments to address gender equality as part of their roles with NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde. They now work together to offer guidance, support and training to organisations that wish to improve their practice in relation to gender inequality. iv v CHALLENGING GENDER STEREOTYPES IN THE EARLY YEARS Changing the Narrative Susie Heywood and Barbara Adzajlic vi Image Credit: © Fiordaliso / Getty Images First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Susie Heywood and Barbara Adzajlic The right of Susie Heywood and Barbara Adzajlic to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. The purchase of this copyright material confers the right on the purchasing institution to photocopy or download pages which bear the support material icon and a copyright line at the bottom of the page. No other parts of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 76652- 8 (hbk) ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 76650- 4 (pbk) ISBN: 978- 1- 003- 16792- 1 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/ 9781003167921 Typeset in Interstate by Newgen Publishing UK Access the Support Material: www.routle dge.com/ 978036 7766 504 vii CONTENTS Acknowledgements ix An Important Note on Safety and Self- Care x Introduction 1 PART 1 5 1 Key Concepts and Definitions 7 2 Gender Inequality: What are We Getting Right? 17 3 Young Brains: Gender, Sex and Child Development 23 4 How Gender Stereotypes are Reinforced 34 PART 2 49 5 What’s the Harm? 51 6 Violence Against Women and Girls 59 7 Man Up! Gender Stereotypes and Male Violence 70 8 Gendered Bodies 81 9 Parent Pressure 92 10 Sexuality and Gender Identity: The Pressure to Conform 101 11 Learning, Working, Earning 110 viii viii Contents 12 Mental Health 121 13 Gender and the Early Years Workforce 126 PART 3 135 14 Auditing Your Practice 137 15 Bias, and How to Get Over It! 141 16 Equitable Practice 149 17 What Parents Can Do and How to Get Them on Board 161 18 Practice Scenarios 170 19 A Call to Action 188 Appendix 1: Action Checklist 191 Appendix 2: Audit Table 192 Appendix 3: Further Information 199 Recommended Reading 203 Glossary 206 Index 208 ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank the following people who agreed to be interviewed and have their voices included in this book: Dr Rosie Baruah (Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine), Julie Cameron (Mental Health Foundation), Nicky Coia (NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde), James Cook (Educator), Graham Goulden (Cultivating Minds), Anita Le Tissier (Educator), Dr Nancy Lombard (Glasgow Caledonian University), Thomas Lynch (Dads Rock), Margrét Pála Ólafsdóttir (Hjalli Nurseries), Professor Gina Rippon (Aston University), Shaddai Tembo (Critical Early Years) and Davy Thompson (White Ribbon Scotland). Thanks also to the numerous people who gave their time, their thoughts and their support as we worked on this book. These include Susie Bennet, Linz Connell, Francesca Mallen, Dr Robyn Muir, Sue Palmer, Cara Richardson, John Wadsworth and Alison Whelan. Massive thanks to our patient and understanding families, who supported our passion and commitment to this work. We would also like to acknowledge NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde and their Gender Friendly Nursery project; they supported us to develop our passion for this topic area and provided the initial inspiration for this book.
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