Gender differences in the way children play in early years- Role Play

Hi my name is dee, i am studying BA in early childhood studies. I am doing my dissertation on gender and how it affects the way in which children to choose to play-particularly focusing on role play activites.
I am unsure as to what sort of methodology to use to investigate this. I was thinking of setting up the role play on one particuler day as a home corner with dolls and so on. And then on the next day have it aimed towards boys play so construction and record how many boys and girls play with what?
Any ideas and suggestions please pass them on!
Many thanks
Dee
x

 

Hi my name is dee, i am studying BA in early childhood studies. I am doing my dissertation on gender and how it affects the way in which children to choose to play-particularly focusing on role play activites.
I am unsure as to what sort of methodology to use to investigate this. I was thinking of setting up the role play on one particuler day as a home corner with dolls and so on. And then on the next day have it aimed towards boys play so construction and record how many boys and girls play with what?
Any ideas and suggestions please pass them on!
Many thanks
Dee
x

 

I'm not sure that it effects young children so much. Both sexes will play with most items whether they're girl or boy based. i have found that boys will dress up in dresses in nursery as much as girls. they like the home corner as much too.

boys tend to play more with the trains and cars but as I've said most things are not really gender based so young.

i think it starts a little later e.g reception to year 1.

 

I did a small scale research project on this last year. I sent out questionnaires to parents to find out what kind of toys children play with at home etc. I also did tracking observations of 4 girls and 4 boys to monitor where they went when given free choice, and for how long. I also 'interviewed' the children to ask them what was their favourite toy, why, and if they wanted to use something more than they could (LOTS said they wanted to use something but couldnt because "it was for boys" or "its always full").

 

First of all thankyou ukangell and impulce. I am focusing on reception class children and quite like your idea impulce, follwing a group of boys and girls to see what they play with and sending out questionaires. I were thinking of something along them lines, but to know someone else has tested it and got the results is very reassuring,
Thank you
Dee
x x

 

Hi Dee,

I am looking at gender and play for my early years dissertation and wondered if you would be willing to give me some tips on where you found books or articles for the literature review. I have googled the subject and also used my uni database but I dont seem to have come up with much at all and I really expected there to be a lot!

Thanks

 

Hi donna and Britbabe
If you email me on claire.croucher@btinternet.com
I have something you might like.
x

 

This is what I've decided to do for my dissertation and I'm so glad I have found this because now I have some reassurance that it could possibly work. I noticed you've mentioned literature and which books are good for research. Could you possibly refer me to some of them because I'm struggling?

Thanks

Kirstie

 

Hi Kirstie,
A good starting point, if you haven't already read it, might be:
Browne, N. (2004) Gender Equity in the Early Years. Maidenhead, Open University Press.

Then there's this book, which is a bit tougher to understand, and the context is the US, but if you can stay with it, I think it's very interesting:
Blaise, M. (2005) Playing it Straight: uncovering gender discourses in the early childhood classroom. London, Routledge.

These two books are more general, but they both have good chapters on the early years:
Paechter, C. (2007) Being Boys, Being Girls: learning masculinities and femininities. Maidenhead, Open University Press.
Skelton, C. & Francis, B. (Eds.) (2003) Boys and Girls in the Primary Classroom. Maidenhead, Open University Press.

The journal 'Gender and Education' (probably available in your Uni library) sometimes has articles relevant to early years.

Good luck with your dissertation!
Sparky3

 

Thank you, that's a great starting point.

Kirstie

 

Hey everybody, i too am in my final year of my degree and now completing the dreaded dissertation, i came up with the topic of looking at gender and play and the ways in which boys and girls play differently. I have done alot of research looking at the reading recommended in this forum also but still have not come up with a significant and focussed question and am undecided also about what methodology to use to get the right results.

As you have all possibly completed yours now i wondered if you had any tips about how you carried yours out etc.

Thanks

Laura

 

This sounds really interesting impulce, do you still have a copy would love to read your findings.

 

Hi, even though was quite some time ago, do you have any relevant data on gender differences that I could use for my dissertation on this topic,

Regards
Lorraine