Universal Journal of Educational Research Vol. 8(12A), pp. 7992 - 8009
DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.082587
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Gender Stereotypes in Children's Play, Pro-social and Aggressive Behavior in the Kindergarten Class: The Kindergarten Teachers' Stance

Evangelia Saramourtsi ¹, Makrina Zafiri ^2,*, Vassiliki Pliogou ^3
1 Department of Early Childhood Education, School of Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
² Foreign Language Office, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
³ Department of Early Childhood Education, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Western Macedonia, Greece

ABSTRACT

This research paper focuses on the issue of gender stereotypes and, more particularly, on the way in which kindergarten students choose the toys and games/activities that they play and the manifestation of specific behaviors which they express in the kindergarten class. The research questions attempted to answer to the correlation of gender stereotypes and the student’s choices of toys and games/activities, and the manifestation of pro-social and aggressive behaviors in students, as well as the teachers’ views on the influence which gender stereotypes exert on students and the way teachers attempt to solve related problems. As part of the research, semi-structured interviews with ten teachers who worked in Greek kindergarten schools were conducted, in order to explore their views and attitudes on the issues stated above. The results of this research show that kindergarten teachers spot differences in kindergarten students’ choices of toys and games/activities, as well as in the behavior between boys and girls. The responses of the kindergarten teachers show that they do not all agree that the aforementioned differences are due to gender stereotypes. The results also show that kindergarten teachers are aware of the ways in which gender stereotypes affect kindergarten students in the family and the school environment. Kindergarten teachers also stated that they know how to deal with gender stereotype problems which may arise in their classes.

KEYWORDS
Gender, Gender Stereotypes, Kindergarten, Play, Behavior

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Evangelia Saramourtsi , Makrina Zafiri , Vassiliki Pliogou , "Gender Stereotypes in Children's Play, Pro-social and Aggressive Behavior in the Kindergarten Class: The Kindergarten Teachers' Stance," Universal Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 8, No. 12A, pp. 7992 - 8009, 2020. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.082587.

(b). APA Format:
Evangelia Saramourtsi , Makrina Zafiri , Vassiliki Pliogou (2020). Gender Stereotypes in Children's Play, Pro-social and Aggressive Behavior in the Kindergarten Class: The Kindergarten Teachers' Stance. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(12A), 7992 - 8009. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.082587.