This thesis investigated the process of gender construction in kindergartens by considering the unique roles of different socialization agents. Participants were 40
4-year-old Hong Kong Chinese children (21 girls and 19 boys) enrolled in four local kindergartens and their four female teachers. Over a period of ten months, 105 visits to these kindergartens were made and 235 hours of systematic observations focusing on social interactions among the target children, their teachers and their peers were analyzed. Participants were also interviewed, in individual sessions, to discern their personal theories about gender. Transcripts of observation and interview data were subject to systematic content analysis and the lens of gender was used to frame interpretations of these data. Descriptive codes, generated iteratively, were clustered, categorized, integrated, recoded, and re-categorized and led to the identification of three major themes. These were "Gendered Preschool Routines", "Perpetuation of Gender Stereotypes" and "Self-Censuring". Teachers were responsible for preschool routines, and both teachers and children upheld gender stereotypes while children monitored their own behavior when they feared they would be chastised by their peers for behavior which may be considered gender inappropriate.
Transcripts of observation and interview data were subject to systematic content analysis and the lens of gender was used to frame interpretations of these
data. Descriptive codes, generated iteratively, were clustered, categorized, integrated, recoded, and re-categorized and led to the identification of three major themes. These were "Gendered Preschool Routines", "Perpetuation of Gender Stereotypes" and "Self-Censuring". Teachers were responsible for preschool routines, and both teachers and children upheld gender stereotypes while children monitored their own behavior when they feared they would be chastised by their
peers for behavior which may be considered gender inappropriate