Classroom processes of gender socialization in four Chinese kindergartens: A contextual account on the teachers' practices and contributions

Naturalistic observations of the classroom processes of gender socialization were conducted in 4 Chinese kindergartens in Hong Kong over a period of 10 months to investigate the teachers' practices and contributions. Drawing on the anecdotes that were focused on the teacher-child interactions and supervised peer-child interactions, the authentic experiences of 109 four-year-old Chinese boys and girls were analyzed in a coeducational context. Findings indicated that these early years' educational contexts were not gender neutral. Teachers interacted with boys significantly more than girls and they subtly perpetuated the traditional but stereotypical Chinese gender value to the children through the repeated use of gendered kindergarten routines in their classes on daily basis. Four contextual factors (Cultural, institutional, physical, and relationship) were identified in the observations, and the kindergarten teachers' practices and contributions in gender socialization of Chinese children were discussed with a process model. The developmentally instigative social experiences of Chinese children were delineated in kindergarten settings and the need to re-examine the gender socialization goals and strategies of Chinese kindergarten teachers were suggested, for the benefits of both boys and girls.