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Shona, I agree that gender stereotypes are often very evident through books, tv programmes etc so they’re already ingrained either consciously or subcounsciously in the children’s minds. I agree that as teachers we need to be deliberate in our actions and words to promote a gender equal and inclusive learning environment.
Children appear to always come in with gender identities already fairly strongly embedded. I feel this is often even more evident with boys. I often see that boys will regulary need encouragment to play with dolls or the kitchen area whereas the girls are quite happy to play with construction activities and more traditional ‘boys activities’. I think you also see it a lot when speaking about clothing and boys will often say that they can’t wear pink because ‘it’s a girls colour’. These stereotypes are all important to be aware of as teachers so that we ensure the children in our classes are aware that boys or girls can become whatever they want regardless of their genders.
Orla, I think it’s a great idea to look at organizing professional development to promote collaborative planning and create a bank of Development Education resources so that everyone within the school knows where to go to find resources to aid with the teaching around Global Citizenship.
From reading through Ehigie’s 2021 paper ‘The Role of Global Citizens in Today’s World’ it is clear that although
we have come a long way in relation to being Glabal citizens and understanding equality and social issues, however
we still have a long way to go. It is essential that we are all aware of the importance of global issues such as poverty,
inequality, hunger and political instabitiy and how these can impact our daily teaching and what the children infront of
us are being exposed to on a daily basis. Given children an awareness of Development Education helps them become more
empathetic towards the plights of others. This is something that we can look at doing with children of all ages as it’s
important that all children regardless of age become aware of the needs of others in an age appropriate way. It is
important that we teach children from an early age that regardless of our differences, we are all members of the same
global family.
