Gender and Toys in Early Childhood Education

摘要

This paper aims to explore how children construct gender through toys. Using a post-structuralist perspective, we look at how power relations are intertwined in children's play activities that strengthen gender binary through toys. This study was an ethnographic study conducted in Bandung, Indonesia. The findings show that toys used as learning media are often gendered. Both children and teachers reinforce gender stereotypes in selecting toys for boys and girls which preserve gender inequality in early childhood education. Based on the findings, we recommend that educators in early childhood education to be more gender aware to be able to provide equal opportunity for boys and girls to learn skills that are important for the children's development.