Conceptualising the value of male practitioners in early childhood education and care (ECEC) : Gender balance or gender flexibility

Warin, Joanna (2019) Conceptualising the value of male practitioners in early childhood education and care (ECEC) : Gender balance or gender flexibility. Gender and Education, 31 (3). pp. 293-308. ISSN 0954-0253

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Abstract

This paper aims to open up the rationales that are used to argue for an increase in male participation in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce. Two theoretical concepts are highlighted and compared: gender balance and gender flexibility. An ethnographic study was conducted in one unusual nursery that has five male workers, using focus groups, one-to-one interviews and observations with male and female practitioners, managers and parents. Some practitioners used a discourse of gender balance to justify the value of the male contribution to the workforce, based on heteronormative ideas about the division of gendered labour within the traditional family. Others emphasised the importance of the highly versatile ECEC practitioner and linked a value for identity versatility with gender flexibility. Our findings lead to recommendations about the need to recruit, train and retain practitioners who are gender conscious and can respond to young children in gender-flexible ways.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Gender and Education
Additional Information:
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Gender and Education on 27/09/2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09540253.2017.1380172
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3300/3304
Subjects:
?? male teachersececgender balancegender flexibilityeducationgender studies ??
ID Code:
87771
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
20 Sep 2017 12:34
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
26 Jan 2024 01:20