Preschools and gender socialization in early childhood: A comparison of Hong Kong and Japan

Preschools and gender socialization in early childhood: A comparison of Hong Kong and Japan

• Chan, Barbara Sui Wah

2006

• A Human Growth & Development
  • AJ Sexual Difference, Bisexual Educational Difference, Sexism in Education
• P Social Context of Education
  • PB Comparative Education
• A Human Growth & Development
  • AC Socialization, Self-concept, Self-esteem, Identity, Affective, Emotional, Psycho-social & Moral Development

Preschool Education Developmental Psychology

• Hong Kong
• Japan

• 1997.7 onwards

• Pre-Primary Education

This thesis explores the relationship between preschools and children's gender socialization in Hong Kong and Japan, focusing on three major enquiries: Firstly, I examine to what extent preschools influence the gender behavior of children; secondly, I am intrigued by how children's gender roles and behaviors are modeled by preschool organization, interaction between teachers and children as well as play among children themselves; my discussion is mainly based on Delamont's (1990) and Thome's (1993) two different approaches to the important role of school in gender socialization; lastly, I have investigated whether there are any similarities and differences in the gender socialization process in Hong Kong and Japan. The data come from ethnographic observations in four kindergartens (two in Hong Kong and two in Japan) and in-depth interviews conducted with 55 parents (24 from Hong Kong and 31 from Japan) and 28 teachers (12 in Hong Kong and 16 in Japan).
My argument is that kindergarten is a significant amplifier of gender socialization. Gender construction in the kindergartens observed was an ongoing, active and creative process that took place chiefly through interaction in group life, whereby children communicate and interact, challenge each other, and create new gender interpretations every day. Regarding the study of children's gender socialization in kindergartens, I found that Delamont neglected to note that teachers not only created gender separation but also were able to reduce children's gender differences, and I also partially agreed with her argument about the huge influence of school organization and of teachers' strategies and interaction on children's gender behavior. While my findings supported Thome's emphasis on the active creation of gender by children, I also want to highlight the fact that socialization is a mutual and interactive relationship. My data substantiated my argument that gender is also highly related to other factors such as age, friendship network, situation or individual differences. I found that the kindergartens observed in Japan and Hong Kong shared more similarities than differences with respect to children's gender behavior. Traditional gender beliefs and behaviors were prevalent among parents, teachers and children in both places. However, the different educational goals and teaching strategies in these two places resulted in children's gender behavior taking different forms.
Overall this thesis concludes that education systems, parents and teachers are important agents influencing children in Hong Kong and Japan, but that above all children themselves are the chief actors in the construction of gender behavior and that socialization is a mutual relationship.

PhD

University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong

• English

Dissertation Theses

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/en/bibs/ef399ceb

2010-12-16