Do playgroups encourage gender stereotypes?

A sociological investigation by Lucy Sanderson

Introduction

In this project, I am going to investigate the question; ‘Do playgroups encourage gender stereotypes?’ This is quite a difficult topic to be able to answer, as a playgroup isn’t just going to say that they encourage stereotypes. Therefore, I am going to have to be careful in how I find out my information to make sure they are reliable sources. To look into this and draw some sort of conclusion, I will be asking both playgroup assistants and parents of children attending playgroup (2 sets of parents with girls, 2 sets with boys, 2 sets with boys and girls) questions in interviews or questionnaires. This will give me information from both points of view, and I can use my findings to look for any trends or similarities. The reason I chose this topic was that I feel very strongly against putting children into stereotypical gender roles, as I think it denies them of making independent choices away from their ‘role’. I also believe that this kind of socialisation is likely to lead to greater amounts of prejudice and discrimination in society on grounds of gender. It is because of these reasons that I would like to investigate whether gender stereotyping happens from a sociological point of view. It is proven that these gender roles are socially constructed, which means they’d have to be learnt at some point in the life of a person, and I am going to see whether any aspect of the roles are learnt in early childhood.

My project relates to modern multicultural Britain very significantly. The way it does is through various preconceptions different areas of society have of people because of their gender. For example, the feminist idea that modern society in the UK is based on a dominating patriarchal system. This is a situation where males are leaders in society, and think they are naturally superior to females. Another view is that there is too much positive discrimination in favour of women where they are treated differently just so that society doesn’t look like it is favouring men. If either of these situations were true, then the gender stereotyping of children would enforce this unequal society and wouldn’t benefit anyone. Also the traditional views of women as housewives and men as ‘breadwinners’ would remain if the stereotypes were encouraged, thus creating unequal opportunities career-wise, as well as social differences in day-to-day living. In multicultural Britain, it is not beneficial to enforce social barriers. I will now investigate my chosen topic to see if gender roles are encouraged at a young age in the citizens of the future.

Methodology

Sampling Frame & Method:

This is a difficult thing to determine with my topic in mind. Mainly because I’d only be able to interview/get information from people I know (considering the possible imposing nature of this investigation asking about their children). I know a leader of a playgroup and they were able to give me a small list of parents willing to take part in my project. I shall pick at random and interview 2 sets of parents with girls, two sets of parents with boys; and two sets with boys and girls. This won’t be able to give opinion for the whole population, but it will give answers for the three possible types of parent. However, I should be able to make comparisons between the three points of view as well as noting any trends. I shall also choose three playgroup leaders/assistants in a similar way. This method may not give a wide sample showing ideas of the whole of the country, but it is the only sensible frame for the time and resources I have.

Methods Chosen:

Postal Questionnaires: I posted the questionnaires to the parents and the playgroup leaders in my investigation. They have open-ended questions so I can get a range of opinions. The fact I am posting them makes my questions seem less intrusive and they aren’t being put on the spot, and they can think about their answers in their own time. With questionnaires there shouldn’t be any ethical issues that I need to think about, which is a benefit. Limitation: I will not be able to use quantitative methods of data presentation, e.g. Bar charts and percentages. Also there may be a slow response rate, and the respondent may not understand the questions. Must make sure that none of the questions are offensive or questioning their ability of childcare.

Observations made at a playgroup session: These gave information by being a covert participant in any activities. The playgroup leaders were aware of what I was doing and observing, the children and their parents weren’t. This meant that they would behave as normal and wouldn’t be affected by the fact I was taking note of what they were doing.

Limitation: Sometimes covert observations are seen as unethical and deceiving, but as I am only dealing with children, I don’t think they’d notice or mind what I was doing.

Sociological Context

I have looked at a number of different secondary ...

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Observations made at a playgroup session: These gave information by being a covert participant in any activities. The playgroup leaders were aware of what I was doing and observing, the children and their parents weren’t. This meant that they would behave as normal and wouldn’t be affected by the fact I was taking note of what they were doing.

Limitation: Sometimes covert observations are seen as unethical and deceiving, but as I am only dealing with children, I don’t think they’d notice or mind what I was doing.

Sociological Context

I have looked at a number of different secondary sources to help in my investigation, as it will be able to broaden my outlook of this topic, using facts as well as opinion. As I studied them, I thought about them in terms of how the information given is linked with a child’s socialisation and the role a child is given. Socialisation is the process in which an individual learns the appropriate behaviour and culture of their society. I will be able to investigate this in my research by seeing if a child is affected by their environment at playgroup. The problem in using this concept is that some of the children’s knowledge of acceptable behaviour may have been learnt before attending playgroup. The second concept I have chosen to use to make conclusions from my research is ‘roles’. This is the central part of my chosen topic; therefore it would be useful to do so. I can investigate this by seeing if children are encouraged into gender roles, which is what I want to find out in this whole investigation. The problems I may have in using this is that most sources will be unbiased and therefore not identify any encouragement that takes place. The first source I looked at was a book on Child Development, and I turned to the pages listing the stages of child development. It shows that a child at the ages 2-4 is ‘only capable of seeing things from their point of view’ and they are starting to speak and learn things through trial and error. However, from ages 4-7 (which would involve their time at playgroup), a child begins to play with other children in a social way and ‘is becoming a more independent character’. It also says that in the two years from the ages of 4-5; the time when children usually attend playgroup, the child will spend most of their time investigating their surroundings and forming relationships. With this evidence therefore, I suggest that if a child of this age were to be encouraged to become a particular type of person by the toys they were given and the surroundings they were in, that they would probably stick with that ‘role’ as they grow up. This is especially so as the source says that a child of tree years old usually learns what sex they are and that males and females are different physically, and would therefore be able to learn what the stereotypical role for each gender would be. This also shows that this is a key stage of socialisation.

From the same book, there is a section on the significance and benefits of playgroups for children. The source says that playgroups are good for children because children learn to mix with others, they learn to be more independent, there is a large range of toys to choose from, they will have the guidance of an experienced and qualified leader who knows how to encourage all aspects of development and they will have more preparation for a structured life at infant school. ‘They will be learning and building up different experiences all the time, ready for when they are older’. So this again backs up the point that any nurturing they get or socialisation they experience at a playgroup will be the basis of their learning methods in the future, so if a child did enter a ‘role’ as encouraged at playgroup, it would affect them later. However, the source also mentions that one of the important aspects of a playgroup is an experienced and qualified leader who will encourage all aspects of development, suggesting that they wouldn’t encourage a certain way to develop, for example into a gender stereotype. These sources have been very useful in showing that there is a link between early childhood development and a person’s character in later life, but because the book is an unbiased study of child growth, these sources wouldn’t say anything about gender stereotypes. The opinions I get from my returned questionnaires and interviews will be much more helpful in answering this question.

Results

The questionnaires sent to parents of children attending playgroups showed a definite correlation between the sex of the child and the type of things that child liked for all of the children in question. For example, the parents with only boys listed toys like action men, toy cars, toy dinosaurs etc. The parents with only girls listed dolls, play kitchens, toy ponies (one of the two parents mentioned a Thomas the Tank Engine). The parents with both boys and girls mentioned toys that were played by both sexes, for example Harry Potter costumes and Monsters Inc play sets as well as the girls having dolls and fairies and the boys having train sets and cars. None of the parents thought that the playgroups their children went to treated boys and girls differently. The most common response to the question asking whether or not they thought playgroups influenced their children was yes. The parents all said that they thought that the playgroup was a good way to influence children to socialise and learn basic things like numbers and letters. None of the parents saw this question as if it was referring to the possibility of playgroups encouraging gender stereotypes. Only a couple of parents said that they knew what their child wanted to be when they grew up (one little girl wanted to be a ballet dancer and a two little boys wanted to be just like action man) all the rest said that they didn’t think that their child understood what growing up meant. A lot of these answers are reflected in the answers from the playgroup leaders. I asked two playgroup leaders the same questionnaire and a lot of their answers were very similar and also coincided with what I saw at the playgroup session that I attended. One of the leaders also told me that all playgroups and nursery are required to have an equal opportunities policy by law so that children weren’t forced into a role or any other kind of discrimination. She said that the gender section states: ‘all children are given the opportunity to take part in any activity regardless of gender.’

Both leaders said that none of the children attending their playgroups are forced into doing anything, and a lot of activities involve both free play and themed activities, with lots of unisex toys, as well as dolls and trains etc. so children can choose what to play with, making everything for everyone. This was also what I noticed during my observations- the theme for the day was ‘doctors & nurses’ and the children were supplied with costumes and equipment. The leaders just left the children to play independently and I noticed that it was in fact the parents of the children who made the girls dress up as nurses and the boys as doctors. I heard one mother say to her son; ‘no don’t put that nurse’s hat on that’s for the girls.’ Both of the leaders’ responses to the question asking whether or not the children are encouraged to take part in things, was that they were encouraged but not pressured into doing things (I noticed this in my observations- a leader would go to a child looking lost and say ‘would you like to do that?’ rather than ‘come and do this’). Also, they said that when the children were left to decide what to do by themselves that the boys usually went for things like cars and trains but most girls would play with almost anything. I noticed this pattern in my observations- a large train set was set up on the floor and the leaders left it and only the boys went to play with it, without encouragement. I later saw a group of boys playing with a toy dinosaur set, and then a little girl went to join in. I also noticed that a lot of girls were guided to the craft tables by their mothers when they first arrived, and they stayed there for most of the time. However, one of the questionnaires from a leader showed that not all of the boys played with trains etc. as she said that some of them played in ‘domestic’ cooking, cleaning, parenting games with the girls. The question asking whether or not the children brought stereotypical toys to sessions differed between the two leaders. One said that they usually just fitted the phase of the time, e.g. ‘Teletubbies’, ‘Tweenies’, Monsters Inc., and a few of the girls take dolls. The other said that they don’t encourage bringing them as they could get broken but when they do they do fit gender stereotypes. I did notice this, as well as stereotypical dress in the children in the session that I observed. A lot of girls were wearing leggings or skirts or dresses which were pink and purples with flower motifs, and the boys tended to wear football/action man orientated t-shirts with trousers.

Both of the leaders said that they thought that children were influenced a lot in their later life by their surroundings when they were young. One said that they were confident that the playgroup they worked in tried its best to provide as much variety in an unbiased way as to let the children learn to socialise, communicate and have choice. The other leader also said that they thought that children were influenced in this way and that they encourage free choice with anything in the playgroup and not discourage them from doing the things they do choose-if a little boy chooses to be a princess and a girl to be a soldier then that’s fine. It’s just about ‘dressing up’ and having fun. She also said that playgroups have to very careful to avoid stereotyping gender and as they know it is potentially a big issue. They feel it’s very difficult for the child to be stereotyped at playgroup whilst all the rules are being followed so closely. I noticed this very equal atmosphere in the session I sat in on but without any prompting, children were coming out with comments which were very gender stereotyped, for example, a little boy refused to wear a hat because ‘pink’s a girl’s colour’. Another said that he liked pink, and one of his friends said ‘err! That means you’re a girl!’ to which the first boy then was pressurised to say that he didn’t like pink after all. These kinds of comments weren’t associated to the playgroup’s way of teaching at all.

Conclusions

From all of the evidence I have gathered, I believe, and the sources show, that the primary socialisation of a child in the first few years of their life is very important. The things children see around them form a lot of attitudes and routines to which they live by as citizens of a society. Even at this age they are learning right from wrong, norms, values and expectations for them to do well. This must mean that with them soaking in all this information this young, they must pick up any gender stereotyping also. This is obvious everywhere we look, with everyone growing up seeming to have an image of a girl, and one of a boy, and how they should be. This was apparent in the secondary source I looked at from a child development book. However, although this is happening I don’t think playgroups encourage the stereotypical behaviour. Firstly, because it is against the law for them to treat children differently and they do not want to be closed down. Playgroups have to be very careful with the activities that they set as to not jeopardise their position. It would be far too risky for them to go out of their way to stereotype the children, and it would also be very hard to physically separate the two sexes to do so. Also, modern society disapproves of inequality so whatever the achievement at the end of forced stereotyping would be useless. So, if playgroups aren’t responsible of any gender stereotyping in modern society, who are? I suggest that it is in fact the parents who encourage gender stereotyping. The information from my secondary sources would show this as they claim that a lot of basic behaviour is developed pre-playgroup, and the child would learn nearly everything they know from those who are constantly around them, primarily the parents. This is one of the biggest factors in the sociological nature v nurture debate. Also, the leaders whom I sent questionnaires to said that they thought that the parents guide their children into certain frames of mind by the types of toys they buy them, the clothes they put them in and what they tell them. This was apparent when I saw the children arriving with their parents to their playgroup session. The parents would prevent their sons from wearing the ‘girl’s costume’ and guide their daughters to the craft table. I don not think this is intentional, but that it is just human instinct and that was what the parents were brought up believing. Therefore I conclude that playgroups do not encourage gender role stereotypes, and it is in fact a sub-conscious action of the parents and their knowledge of the roles of society.

Evaluation

My investigation went really well in terms of the information I got. I managed to find lots to write about in my primary and secondary research. I think the questions I asked people covered a wide range of areas in the topic so were really useful. However, if I did do this investigation again, I would be much more specific with my deadlines to receive replies, as this did hold me up for a while. For example, I received the parent questionnaires over the period of about two weeks, and I could not get on to comparing the parents of boys with the parents of girls etc., as I did not have all the information I needed to be able to do this thoroughly straight away. If I did this again, I should have conducted a pilot test on a smaller sample to make sure the questions were sufficient and giving me the information that I needed-luckily, my questionnaires were fine but a good sociologist would have tested their method first. I was trying to save time! Also, the time that I actually conducted my research was difficult to be able to book a session at a playgroup because like school, they have summer holidays and half terms so I had to wait until a recent inset day to be able to attend. However, it all pulled together in the end and I believe that my research went really well and I chose the correct sampling methods for this scale project. To get a broader view on this I would need to interview a larger number of people, and from different areas as this can affect things sociologically. I could also develop this further by specifically looking for different backgrounds of children to see if this affects socialisation, e.g. Single parent families, adopted children. This would take the topic of socialisation and gender roles to a different route than playgroups, but this may make an interesting comparative investigation.

Bibliography