Masculinities as social practices: Perspective of boys in early childhood education
Social Internships in Early Childhood Education; Boys; Gender and Childhood; Early Childhood Education; Masculinities; Sociology of Childhood
The study problematizes masculinities and gender issues, through the observation of social practices of a group of fifteen children aged four to five years old from a first period class in a kindergarten in Sobradinho, Federal District. The research follows which questions and constructions the children have about gender; investigates, within the group routine, which movements break or reinforce the gender hierarchy; observes how perspectives about gender, values and norms are passed on and received by the children; problematizes which masculinities are part of the institution dynamics, discourses and routines. The research, which uses theoretical contributions from the Sociology of Childhood, was directed to male children, but the five girls in the class also participated in the study - given the relational character with which gender issues were treated. It is a qualitative descriptive research carried out through participant observation. The conclusion was reached that children in general, and boys in particular suffer with the restrictions of culturally and socially imposed gender norms, but some of them escape the standards and create their own forms of interaction; that the institution of Child Education legitimizes gender norms and carries sexist marks that are evidenced in pedagogical practices, although some actions seek to overcome the dichotomous logic - such as the absence of separate lines for girls and boys for example; and that the path in search of a Pedagogy of Listening - non-prejudiced and transforming - still needs to be better traveled.