GENDER IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: DIFFERENTIATING BOYS AND GIRLS BASED ON THE MEANING OF EXTERNAL MARKERS

Abstract

This work presents and discusses the data obtained in a survey to investigate the emergence and characterization of questions about gender produced by children in their interactions in the classroom, based on free activities proposed by the classroom teacher. Supported by the cultural-historical perspective of Vygotsky, and the studies of Bakhtin and Voloshinov on language, it is understood that the meanings constructed about gender are internalized based on the social relations mediated by ideological signs. The research was carried out in a kindergarten class of a public school in the city of Londrina/ PR. Twenty children aged four years took part in this study. The methodology involved fourteen observations, and video recordings made during the school routine, including in the classroom, with the production of a field diary by the researcher at the end of each day. Analyses of three situations were selected for this work. The results were as follows: gender issues emerge in early childhood education, in the day-to-day routines of the classroom, and in the relationships between children, even without any prior planning; the children distinguish between gender based on the significance of external markers.