Nursery World - Pilot successful in changing young children's views on gender

Young children’s views of gender can be overturned by adopting an approach that challenges perceived views of boys’ and girls’ toys, a study has found.

Three times as many children in the early years viewed football as a game ‘for everyone’ after the pilot

A pilot of a whole-setting approach in primary schools designed to tackle children’s unintentional gender bias has been successful in ‘disrupting limited gender norms’.

Lifting Limits, a social enterprise which challenges gender stereotypes and promotes gender equality in education, tested its programme in a year-long pilot in five primary schools in the London Borough of Camden, with 1,900 children and 270 staff.

‘Gender stereotypes limit children’s futures,’ the evaluation report says. ‘Once the idea of “girl jobs” and “boy jobs” (or “pretty girls” and “strong boys”) takes hold, the unequal gender outcomes seen in later life become almost inevitable.

‘Despite children being told they can be “anything they want to be”, that message is often undermined by what they see, hear and experience in school.’

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included