Boys and girls : one world or two? Gender identities in the primary classroom

Abstract

This dissertation attempts to give a full description of the relationships built amongst six and nine-year old girls and boys in relation to their definitions of gender. It gives an understanding of children's culture within the domain of gender identities as observed in the Year 2 and Year 5 classrooms. Chapter One gives an overview of the development of children's construction of gender before starting school. Chapter Two describes the methodology used to conduct the research in the primary classrooms. The findings of our study are presented in Chapter Three, which attempts to explain children's gender relations from their own point of view. The influences of the school which affect children's gender socialisation are tackled in Chapter Four. A discussion on our findings and conclusions derived from our observations follow in Chapter Five. Our argument primarily deals with the notion that as children grow older they are more inclined to divide into sex segregated groups. We point out that gender becomes a seemingly natural ongoing process. Thus, we suggest that children start off in one culture or world, but through received messages in the school and other outer influences, girls and boys move towards sub-cultures or two different worlds.