ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author examines how the teachers in her center respond to gender issues that arise in the classroom, how they initiate dialogue on gender, and how teachers’ actions and interactions influence children’s understanding and enactment of gender. Children seemed to base most of their assumptions about gender on the coyotes’ physical appearance rather than by drawing ideas from what they knew about the animals’ personas. Gender identity is how each person perceives themself and what they call themself. The language a person uses to communicate their gender identity can evolve and shift over time, especially as someone gets older and has access to a broader gender vocabulary. Many educators agree that the classroom environment plays a significant role in children’s learning. Research on classroom libraries suggests that the majority of children’s literature focused on gender presents boys and girls in stereotypical roles of strength and meekness, respectively.
