Male teacher, female teacher: exploring children’s perspectives of teachers’ roles in kindergartens

Abstract

In this paper, the findings of a study investigating four‐year‐old children’s perspectives on the roles that male and female teachers fulfil in a kindergarten setting are presented. The purpose of this study was to discover if the gender of a teacher impacts on children’s perspectives of their teachers’ roles and whether boys’ and girls’ perspectives differ. Children’s drawings of their teachers and conversational interviews were analysed to identify the types of roles children identified for their teachers. Interviews were also conducted with the teachers in an effort to discover the differences between children’s perspectives and teachers’ perspectives. The findings of this study question whether children’s gender stereotypes are challenged by the presence of a male teacher in a kindergarten and identify some of the challenges associated with listening to children’s voices in social research.