Discuss the role of primary schooling in the production and regulation of gendered and sexualised childhood identities.

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Discuss the role of primary schooling in the production and regulation of gendered and sexualised childhood identities. Ensure that you draw on relevant research evidence too support your answer.

This piece of writing will be looking at how primary schools impact upon a Childs perception

of gender and how it influences children regarding gender roles and also their thoughts on

sexuality. Firstly it will concentrate on what is meant by childhood innocence and then how

 that in itself has been socially constructed by teachers and society, and how that impacts

 on children today. Secondly, Through teacher and pupil interaction as well as children to

 children interaction and how the primary school as an institution delivers and supports

 sexuality and gender through the curriculum.

The idea of childhood being socially constructed is a very powerful one with many

 arguments to back it up. Media, law and educational policy all play a vital role in the making

 of childhood, as well as historical events and beliefs. ‘ Childhood is a transitory social and

 historical institution largely imposed and constructed by the practises of adults’ (Gittens

 1998 ‘quoted in’ Renolds 2005:18)  James and Prout (1998) had much to say regarding

 childhood and thought that  it was merely a frame for contextualising the early stages of

 life, and that it features as an important structural part of many societies. Therefore serving

a purpose to society and this creation of childhood was formed in order to explain the first

 years of life and give it a label. With this label came expectations of what childhood should

 include. ‘Developed first by Rousseau and reappointed by Victorian sentimentalists, the

 representation of children as vulnerable and innocent bought about the birth of modern

 ideas of childhood’ ( Renold 2005:18) Examples of this socialisation of childhood  are seen

 throughout primary schools today, in examinations and  cognitive and physical

 development, coupled with success in sports and other areas of life, integrated in and

 associated deeply within the educational system. The educational system is based heavily

 upon the idea of the child being innocent, ‘the production (and to some extent the

 production) of childhood innocence was a central discourse fueling many educational

 campaignes’ ( Renold 2005:18). It is apparent that the everyday world of primary schooling

 is very much cut off and separate from the adult world. One main idea of innocence is that

 children are not subject to the sexual world in the way that adults are, and that they are

 seen as being very much protected from it. ‘In many respects the school and specifically the

 British primary school , effectively institutionalised childhood innocence’ (Renold 2005:18)

 Before this children were simply seen as mini adults going out to work for their families.

Amy Wallis and Jo Vanevery wrote an article that stated ‘ the primary school is a sexual site

 just like any other institution’ they go onto argue that ‘sexuality, and in particular

heterosexuality, is not only present but crucial to the organisation of primary schools’.

 (Renold 2005:26). It is easy to see the validity of this statement, primary schools have a

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 tendency to promote and sustain the idea of heterosexuality as the norm and very much

 the only option. This is done in a numerous amount of ways. To start it is apparent in the

 way many primary schools are structured and ran. Many headline stories in the media have

 been dominated by the lack of male role models in our primary schools and how schooling

 has become feminized. This creates an enormous side effect in the male role models that

 are already in the profession, which can result in ‘displays of exaggerated or hyper -masculinities to demonstrate their masculine credentials ...

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