The preschool period is critical for gender equality education. Through analyzing the results of the questionnaires on gender equality awareness and gender equality education answered by 492 preschool teachers from 18 kindergartens, this study is aimed at having a basic understanding of the status？quo of the educational environment in kindergartens for gender equality. Additionally, the questionnaires on preschoolers’ gender role behaviors were answered by 3712 parents to understand the status quo and characteristics of preschool children’s gender-role development. On this basis, the relationship between the educational environment in kindergartens for gender equality and preschoolers’ gender-role development was illuminated. The study found that: preschool teachers’ awareness of gender equality was in the middle to upper level overall and there were age differences. The overall performance of？gender equality education in kindergartens was good, and the aspects of gender integration and promotion need to be improved. Preschool teachers’ education and gender equality awareness significantly and positively predicted the level of kindergarten gender equality education. There are gender differences in the distribution of different gender roles among preschool children, and gender roles are in constant development. Therefore, it is recommended that kindergartens create a gender-equal environment, deepen the promotion of gender equality in society, highlight gender-equal education topics in family education guidance, support teachers’ learning and development, and provide systematic post-service training for preschool teachers on gender equality education.
References
[1]
Aikman, S., Halai, A., & Rubagiza, J. (2011). Conceptualising Gender Equality in Research on Education Quality. Comparative Education, 47, 45-60.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2011.541675
[2]
Aina, O. E., & Cameron, P. A. (2011). Why Does Gender Matter? Counteracting Stereotypes with Young Children. Dimensions of Early Childhood, 39, 11-19.
[3]
García-Cueto, E., Rodríguez-Díaz, F. J., Bringas-Molleda, C., López-Cepero, J., Paíno- Quesada, S., & Rodríguez-Franco, L. (2015). Development of the Gender Role Attitudes Scale (GRAS) amongst Young Spanish People. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 15, 61-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2014.10.004
[4]
Halpern, H. P., & Perry-Jenkins, M. (2016). Parents’ Gender Ideology and Gendered Behavior as Predictors of Children’s Gender-Role Attitudes: A Longitudinal Exploration. Sex Roles, 74, 527-542. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-015-0539-0
[5]
Hilliard, L. J., & Liben, L. S. (2010). Differing Levels of Gender Salience in Preschool Classrooms: Effects on Children’s Gender Attitudes and Intergroup Bias. Child Development, 81, 1787-1798. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01510.x
[6]
Hu, J., Yang, M., Jin, X., & Wang, X. (2020). Research on the Relationship between Preschool Teachers’ Gender Roles and Bisexual Education—Based on the Comparison of Male and Female Teachers. Education Research Monthly, 10, 52-57+64.
[7]
Hyde, J. S., Bigler, R. S., Joel, D., Tate, C. C., & van Anders, S. M. (2019). The Future of Sex and Gender in Psychology: Five Challenges to the Gender Binary. American Psychologist, 74, 171-193. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000307
[8]
Lomazzi, V., Israel, S., & Crespi, I. (2018). Gender Equality in Europe and the Effect of Work-Family Balance Policies on Gender-Role Attitudes. Social Sciences, 8, Article No. 5. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8010005
[9]
Meyer, M., & Gelman, S. A. (2016). Gender Essentialism in Children and Parents: Implications for the Development of Gender Stereotyping and Gender-Typed Preferences. Sex Roles, 75, 409-421. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0646-6
[10]
Miralles-Cardona, C., Chiner, E., & Cardona-Moltó, M. C. (2021). Educating Prospective Teachers for a Sustainable Gender Equality Practice: Survey Design and Validation of a Self-Efficacy Scale. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 23, 379- 403. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-06-2020-0204
[11]
Pasterski, V., Zucker, K. J., Hindmarsh, P. C., Hughes, I. A., Acerini, C., Spencer, D., Neufeld, S., & Hines, M. (2015). Increased Cross-Gender Identification Independent of Gender Role Behavior in Girls with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia: Results from a Standardized Assessment of 4-to 11-Year-Old Children. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44, 1363-1375. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0385-0
[12]
Qiu, X., Wang, L., Niu, Y., & Zhang, W. (2019). A Questionnaire on Children’s Gender Equality Education in Kindergartens in Beijing. Journal of China Women’s University, 31, 110-116.
[13]
Wood, E. A. (2013). Play, Learning and the Early Childhood Curriculum (pp. 1-208). SAGE Publications.%
