Gender identities and education

Starting school is seen as a significant event in childhood not only by parents and teachers, but by children themselves. Although it seems clear that gender identities have been firmly developed in domestic settings, we also know that school has a major influence on further development as evidenced by achievements and choices of subjects in later educational careers. How do children come to negotiate such a social gender identity? Barbara Lloyd and Gerard Duveen, two distinguished developmental and social psychologists, examine the beginnings of this process through an investigation of four- and five-year-old children's reconstruction of gender during their first year at school. Their research is informed by the theory of social representations; and their novel and ambitious approach combines the psychology of development with that of social gender identities. The authors' conclusions challenge conventional wisdom, yet provide guidance to both educators and parents in considering the effects of schooling. Gender Identities and Education will also become required reading for all students and teachers of psychology interested in the development of children's gender.