Evaluate and Reflect Upon Practice in Early Years Settings in Supporting Children’s Social Development
Evaluate and reflect upon practice in early years settings in supporting children’s social development
Gender
This rationale will discuss the issues around gender and whether or not as parents, teachers or practitioners we influence children into their gender identity or whether it is inherent within our genetic makeup. I will be evaluating the complexities of my role as a practitioner in supporting children’s social development and reflecting upon how I could improve and modify my practice.
There are differing views when it comes to defining gender. Some use gender to focus on biological differences such as sex, physical differences or hormones (Guarian 2002: 20). Others refer to ‘gender’ as the social constructions of masculinity and femininity (ATL 2004: 9 and Francis et al 2005: 73) meaning boys’ and girls’ behaviours and attitudes, which are not necessarily fixed by their biological make up. There is therefore a need to realise that ‘gender’ can be and often is regularly an interchangeable term that can be suited to both of these definitions.
Kohlberg (1966) in (Harris and Butterworth 2002) suggests that there are three stages of gender identity beginning around the age of two to three years. The first stage is Gender Identity, where children become aware of sex. A child will say ‘I am a boy’ for example but not necessarily know what being a boy means. The second stage is Gender Stability which happens around the ages of three and a half to four and a half years old. In this stage children will develop awareness and understanding of the durability of their own gender and of others, this is generally focused on the physical appearance and a child may think that a person who dresses in typically opposite gender clothing has also changed sex (Emmerich et al 1977 in Harris and Butterworth 2002). The third of Kohlberg’s stages is Gender Consistency. This usually happens around the age of four and a half and upwards and this is when children begin to realise
Gender
This rationale will discuss the issues around gender and whether or not as parents, teachers or practitioners we influence children into their gender identity or whether it is inherent within our genetic makeup. I will be evaluating the complexities of my role as a practitioner in supporting children’s social development and reflecting upon how I could improve and modify my practice.
There are differing views when it comes to defining gender. Some use gender to focus on biological differences such as sex, physical differences or hormones (Guarian 2002: 20). Others refer to ‘gender’ as the social constructions of masculinity and femininity (ATL 2004: 9 and Francis et al 2005: 73) meaning boys’ and girls’ behaviours and attitudes, which are not necessarily fixed by their biological make up. There is therefore a need to realise that ‘gender’ can be and often is regularly an interchangeable term that can be suited to both of these definitions.
Kohlberg (1966) in (Harris and Butterworth 2002) suggests that there are three stages of gender identity beginning around the age of two to three years. The first stage is Gender Identity, where children become aware of sex. A child will say ‘I am a boy’ for example but not necessarily know what being a boy means. The second stage is Gender Stability which happens around the ages of three and a half to four and a half years old. In this stage children will develop awareness and understanding of the durability of their own gender and of others, this is generally focused on the physical appearance and a child may think that a person who dresses in typically opposite gender clothing has also changed sex (Emmerich et al 1977 in Harris and Butterworth 2002). The third of Kohlberg’s stages is Gender Consistency. This usually happens around the age of four and a half and upwards and this is when children begin to realise