ABSTRACT
Children, like all people, are continually wondering how they fit into the world. Who are their friends? Are they popular? How do they feel about others? Developing a sense of one’s own identity is implicit in many chapters in this book. Here, the issues are considered through gender, considering how boys relate to boys, girls to girls, and how the genders relate to one another. Gender stereotypes are explored along with strategies to question, challenge and address them. The chapter encourages education practitioners to think about their own views and biases and to develop ways of supporting the development of individual identity in their classrooms. This provides an additional dimension to the consideration of how to appreciate myriad different others, covered at several points in this book. Gender issues are commonly thought about in primary schools. However, issues of
diversity in identity and sexuality are looked at less frequently. This chapter is significant in its reflection on the ways in which schools reinforce and challenge stereotypes about gender roles and sexualities. This chapter considers how gender roles develop in the early years of schooling, and progresses to look at ways in which they can be considered in appropriate and supportive ways later in primary education. In addition, it considers issues of self-image including eating disorders. Essentially, all these areas relate to a child’s mental health and well-being: it is thus important to explore strategies for dealing with issues of identity, difference and stereotyping in our classrooms.
