Multicultural Curriculum

HD 412- Working with Children and Families in a Diverse World

Multicultural Curriculum
Cherilyn Helguera
November 26, 2015

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As I collaborated with my group, we discussed our concerns within a traditional

preschool classroom. One topic that was unanimous was gender identity through the
materials. We all noticed that the majority of girls do not gravitate to the block area as
well as the majority of boys do not utilize the dramatic play area. I have seen a change
within the toy industry to tackle this topic, such as Lego.
Lego has tried to open up their product to girls by making princess legos with
castles. Yet, the concept is still the same, they are color coded. The legos are pink and
purple which identifies these legos are solely for girls. Children begin to form concepts of
gender beginning around age 2, and most children know if they are a boy or girl by the
age of 3 (Aina, O. & Cameron, P.). Parents enable this concept by painting the childs
room a gender related color and dressing them in that color as well. Children begin to
form their ideas by color the sex of the child without truly understanding the concept of
gender.
Providing an anti-bias curriculum within the classroom that is focused on gender
significance will provide an inclusive gender free environment. This will enable all
children to openly explore possible interests that in other environments they would not.
Children need to look at future professions as an interest and not if it is gender accepted.
There are four factors: Identity, Bias, Social Justice, and Parent Communication that will
support a gender free environment.
Identity
Identity is often focused on physical aspects of a boy and a girl. When a parent
has a son or daughter, the stereotypical ideas spring forth as to the outward acceptance of
their child. Parents direct children to what is socially acceptable in regards to; clothing,

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hairstyles, and toys they should be playing with. Yet, identity in children must be
examined in how the child views themselves within their supportive environments.
Educators also direct identity by the classroom environment they create. Identity
is placed within gender specific materials. Within the dramatic play area, clothing and
materials are mainly female related. A few materials for boys are male designed hats,
coats, and ties. When a boy puts on gloves, necklaces, and holds a purse he is
automatically scolded for his choices, since those materials are for girls.
Creating an inclusive environment will enable a child to create and develop their
own identity. Estola suggests that it is important that all play domains are not culturally
divided into separate boys or girls games since this narrows childrens possibilities to
develop their full potential (2011,48). Supporting a childs interests should not be
regulated based on gender acceptance. Broadening our minuscule ideals will engage
children to explore unknown interests
that may exist.
Expectations about gender roles are not only affected by the general sexism in our
society; ethnic and cultural background also influences peoples beliefs about gender
behavior (Copple, C. p 119). Adults base concerns on what a child plays with in regards
to future sexual preferences. When a boy plays with a doll this does not label him
homosexual or a girl working with blocks as a lesbian. These ideas are inconclusive and
harbor future potential in breaking gender roles. As young children develop gender
awareness, they establish rigid lines around gender roles (Copple, C. p 115). Fostering
daily positive and inclusive experiences for children will dismantle stereotypes to
encourage the exploration of identity without criticism.

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Social Justice
Reflecting upon social justice in the preschool environment, views throughout the
educational perspective are shown to be faced with similar situations. Social justice is
defined by the Department of Government and Justice Studies at Appalachian State
University by Matthew Robinson as, Promoting a just society by challenging injustice
and valuing diversity. It exists when all people share a common humanity and therefore
have a right to equitable treatment, support for their human rights, and a fair allocation of
community resources. (Robinson, 2015) As we begin the educational career of so many
young minds through preschool we must look at the classroom as a microsystem. A
system set up to support the needs of the children in the class. Teachers, must focus on
each individual child and assess that every childs basic needs are being met. Teachers
should strive to develop a pedagogy which encompasses tolerance, diversity, anti-bias,
culturally relevant, and anti-oppressive teachings.
Focusing on gender equality in the preschool environment we find that through
play and family interactions children build understand of gender roles. In the book, A
World of Difference it states, Research shows that family characteristics such as
structure, socioeconomic level, class, culture, race, and religion can significantly shape
childrens gender learning. (Copple, C. p.114) Teachers must learn to build an
environment rich in all abilities and levels, full of new experiences for each and every
child to learn from. By providing children with opportunities we build their sense of self
and foster learning moments. Teachers must also set aside their own assumptions and
stereotypical understandings of gender. In the journal, Preparing Teachers of Young
Children to be Social Justice-Oriented Teacher by Celia Oyler, we see how our own

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assumptions can play a role in our view of social justice as stated, We want our students
to see how their own social class location affects many of their assumptions. (Oyler,
2011, p.154) To build and nurture an environment of equality we must first set aside our
own beliefs and focus on the children in our class. By incorporating all types of play
throughout the environment, we build a more gender free atmosphere for all children to
develop at their own pace.
Biases
We all have preconceived biases, biases we dont even know exist. We can
clearly see and criticize others when they express them but tend to be blind of our own.
These biases, what we think are socially acceptable gender norms are nothing more than
gender role stereotypes that can negatively affect the expectations, career decisions and
overall outcome in a childs life (Mills, Culbertson, Huffman, Connell, 2012).
The agents of socialization such as parents or caregivers, schools and churches,
families and friends, as well as toys and mass media, are responsible for conditioning
children, through learned behavior what is culturally expected gender behavior. An
example of this would be, a boy pretending to be a chef while playing and manipulating
kitchenware toys, and his father redirecting his playing by offering and saying, play with
cars, cooking is for girls. This would be an example of a caregiver being an agent of
socialization teaching a gender expectation even knowing that the worlds most renowned
chefs are in fact men. A similar example can be, a girl building a well-thought out road
for her cars in the block area and her teacher redirecting her to

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the dramatic house area where, unknowingly the cultural norms and preconceived
biases influence her at preparing her for the expected role of a housewife and a mother.
There is so much to learn from when building with toys blocks. Its more than
just fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness, children become
critical thinkers and express their creativity. As if that wasnt enough, the greatest benefit
from block playing is mathematical skills. According to Gender Biases in Early Number
Exposure to Preschool-Aged Children, an article in the Journal of Language and Social
Psychology, Parents can shape expectations and interests, which may predict later
differences in achievement and occupational choices. Exposing both genders to an
equally rich mathematical environment might put an end to the stereotype of male
dominance in math (Chang, Sandhover, Brown, 2011).
There are other ways in which children are victims of the gender biases that
grownups have over them that unintentionally reinforce prescribed gender roles. Lets
take active physical play for example, when taking out the balls, a teacher can
unknowingly be handing balls out only to boys, assuming girls wont play with them. At
home, a father might feel that his four year old son is ready to have the training wheels
off of his bicycle, yet his daughter, at age six still rides with them. If he was to fall off
and get hurt, he would most likely be conditioned to suck it up and not cry because of
the social role theory about what is expected male behavior. If his daughter was to fall
and get the most minimal scrape, it would be an expected behavior for her to be
emotionally expressive. Daddy would most likely encourage her to verbally share her
feelings. Then we wonder why most men cant express themselves, they have been

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taught to not to express their emotions or even talk about it, which is something that
comes quite easily for most women.
Social psychologist have theorized that stereotypes act as conservative forces
that justify and maintain the existing relations between dominant and subordinate
(Diekman, 2000 ). Striving for gender equality and to begin closing the gender gap can
be attainable through letting go of our personal biases. Because implicit stereotypes are
learned through experiences and the environment, we must aim to provide an
environment free from gender roles within our classrooms.
Parent Communication
One of the key factors of a successful program is including the families that we
serve. Successful parent communication requires consistency and frequency. In order to
have positive outcomes when communicating gender inclusion throughout the
environment clear goals need to be set and implemented. Along with setting clear goals
they need to be communicated in various forms. Incorporating newsletters along with
parent meetings or a simple email would produce higher level of success when
communicating with parents. With the facilitation of the parents, a teacher can create an
environment that promotes gender inclusion. According to the book, A World of
Difference, To foster gender-role flexibility in their students, teachers can organize
classroom environments and conduct lessons that encourage boys and girls to engage in
cross-gender cooperative activities. (pp.115)
The benefits of gender inclusion throughout the classroom include many
developmental advantages. Two of the areas of focus is the Block Area and the House/
Home living area. According to the website Early Childhood News, Play with blocks

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provides an excellent opportunity for social and physical development and enhances
creativity. (Alexander, 2008) Play in the block area provides all children an opportunity
for them to learn math skills, spatial relations, coordination, and social skills. Through
block and manipulative play children learn creativity and how to work with others to
achieve a common goal. The benefits of the house area include all children leaning
imaginative play. They begin to develop social emotional skills and learn real life skills
through the shared knowledge of their peers. Along with social emotional skills children
learn language skills and communication skills through play.
Curriculum
In order to incorporate a gender-neutral environment we must first, take the
dramatic play area and provide a rich environment with plenty of open ended genderneutral materials such as community member attire. Attire that will spark interest in all
the children not just the boys or just the girls. Proving a variety of professional attire that
can be worn by all children will create the open ended discussions about gender equality
in real life. An example of this would be business attire like coats and blazers. Another
example would be solid colored scrubs that can be worn by both doctors and nurses.
Along with the materials provided the classroom needs to have images throughout the
play area with real people doing non-traditional roles.
The materials within this area can be contained in neutral containers. Most
materials and clothing are stored in gender coded containers or trunks. Within the dark
blue container you find all male related items and the turquoise container are female. By
taking away the gender coded containers and placing materials in profession labeled

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containers allows each child to not question if they can use them, but that they want to.
When materials are not color coded, children can be drawn to use them.
Between the ages of 3 and 5 years, children develop their gender identity and
begin to understand what it means to be male or female. Almost immediately after
becoming gender aware, children begin developing stereotypes, which they apply to
themselves and others, in an attempt to give meaning to and gain understanding about
their own identity (Aina, O. & Cameron, P. 2011). By creating a gender free environment,
this will broaden a childs perspective of what they want to utilize within their own
creative play.
In conclusion, creating a gender neutral environment empowers a child to be more
aware of their choices. A child will develop an identity that reflects their interests, not
what is dictated by what is gender accepted. Educators need to bring in more gender
neutral materials into the childs classroom to broaden the children's interests and
choices.

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References

Alexander, N. (2008). Earlychildhood NEWS - Article Reading Center. Retrieved

November 30, 2015, from
http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?
ArticleID=397
Chang, A., Sandhofer, C., & Brown, C. (2011). Gender Biases in Early Number Exposure
to Preschool-Aged Children. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 440450. doi:10.1177/0261927X11416207
Copple, C. (2003). A World of Difference: Readings on Teaching Young Children in a
Diverse Society. National Association for the Education of Young Children.
United States of America
Diekman, Amanda (10/01/2000). "Stereotypes as dynamic constructs: Women and men of
the past, present, and future".Personality & social psychology bulletin (01461672), 26 (10), p. 1171.
Estolla, E. (2011). Discussing gender. In Perspecitves on Gender In Early Childhood, ed.
T. Jacobs. 39-58. St. Paul, MN. Redleaf.
Mills, M. J., Culbertson, S. S., Huffman, A. H., & Connell, A. R. (2012). Assessing
gender biases. Gender in Management, (8), 520-540.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.tcsedsystem.idm.oclc.org/10.1108/17542411211279715
Oyler, C. (2011). Preparing Teachers of Young Children to be Social Justice-Oriented
Teachers, 147-161. Retrieved from http://academia.edu
Robinson, M. (2015). What is Social Justice, Retrieved from
http://gjs.appstate.edu/social-justice-and-human-right/what-social-justice

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Aina, O.E. & Cameron, P.A. (2011). Why Does Gender Matter? Counteracting
Stereotypes With Young Children. V. 39 No. 3 Retrieved from:
http://www.southernearlychildhood.org

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