Men are traditionally portrayed as being successful in sports, and male teachers in physical activities are portrayed as successful teachers. How do female teachers perceive the gender role of kindergarten teachers in early childhood physical activities? Using hegemonic masculinity theory as an analytical tool, semi-structured interviews with…

This article presents results from qualitative research on children's dominant gender discourses in kindergarten and the influence of the socio-pedagogical aspects of kindergarten culture, transmitted via teachers' gender discourses and personal epistemologies, on the construction of children's gender discourses and identities. The main questions…

This paper describes research exploring discursive constructions of gender and discursive/material intra-actions in two PreK classrooms in the United States, specifically through documentation of children's play. Using a feminist poststructuralist lens, the research illustrates ways in which children are subjected through performative iterations…

There is a persistent suggestion that the lack of men who choose to work with young children (0-5 years) is detrimental to children's learning and development. This study analysed whether practitioners believed that men who work with young children adopt specific approaches within a play pedagogy. Practitioner beliefs about how their gender…

According to recent statistics, fewer than 3% of early childhood educators are self-identified men. Thus, at a time when young children are constructing their identities and exploring gender roles and boundaries, opportunities for them to engage in authentic and meaningful learning experiences with both male and female teachers are scarce. The aim…

This qualitative research paper discusses how the material environment of preschool classrooms contributes to early childhood experiences of gender. It applies poststructuralist and posthumanist concepts -- primarily Barad's agential-realism -- to analyse ethnographic data extracts drawn from the author's semi-longitudinal study in a UK nursery.…

Many countries call for more men to be teachers in early childhood education and care (ECEC). In Sweden, the issue has been discussed since the early 1970s, but despite these discussions there is little Swedish research that examines the notions and expectations associated with male teachers. International research has found that perceptions of…

Despite explicit focus on addressing gender inequality in educational settings in Australia, without challenging gender binarism, inequality will persist. This article demonstrates the everyday and implicit means through which hierarchical gender binaries continue to be perpetuated. Observational fieldwork undertaken in three Australian early…

The overall interest is to understand how men who study preschool teaching negotiate masculinities. Earlier research shows how male teachers negotiate masculinities when being in and entering a predominantly feminine work area, such as early childhood education [see, for example, Brody, D. L. (2015). The construction of masculine identity among…

This paper explores the impact of gender on the employment of men in early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres through the voices of male and female early childhood teachers (ECTs) working in China. Gender imbalance in the ECEC workforce is a global phenomenon, and there has been little research about it in countries such as China. This…

Despite the political and academic debate on the demands for more male workers in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), no European country has reached the benchmark set for 2006 to have 20% male early childhood workers. This has predominantly been countered by challenging the idea that care for the youngest implies an activity "that…

The article investigates the discursive constructions of preschool girls and points to how girls are positioned, assessed and constructed by adults in parent-teacher conferences in Swedish preschools. Using transcripts of audio-taped episodes from parent-teacher conferences, the analysis reveals that gender is an important aspect of the adults'…