In the theoretical part, I first defined the difference between biological and social gender, which
was introduced by John Money (in Blakemore, Berenbaum, and Liben, 2009) and is still used
today. I then described the development of a child’s gender identity according to four theories:
psychoanalytic, cognitive-developmental, social learning theory, and gender schemes. Later, I
compared the differences between the sexes in biological development from the prenatal period
to primary school and pointed out more similarities than differences (in Marjanovič Umek,
2009). In the next chapter, I described the topic of stereotypes and gender discrimination and
the role of parents, educators and others who co-create the child's environment. I concluded the
theoretical part with examples of good practice and useful advice.
In the empirical part, I researched in which areas gender discrimination and stereotypes are
manifested and what is the role of the educator in the emergence and loosening of gender
stereotypes. In doing so, I used the method of observing work in five departments of the
Primorska kindergarten and an interview with five educators in these departments. Through
research, I found that gender stereotypes and discrimination are manifested primarily in
communication, both verbal and nonverbal, and educators are not aware of most of their
stereotypes, according to the results of interviews. I conclude that gender stereotypes and
gender discrimination play an important role in co-creating work and life in kindergarten. All
observed and interviewed educators say that they have not discussed this topic with their
children in their careers and do not intend to.
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