Examining Femininity in the Field of Early Childhood Education as “Herland”

• In Event: Theoretical and Discursive Rethinkings in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

Through the lens of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s sociological and feminist perspectives in her novel "Herland", early childhood teachers’ femininity in the field of early childhood education and society and its construction as a social mechanism to oppress female teachers will be investigated in this paper. First, this study traces women’s historical numerical dominance in the teaching profession and its relationship with social factors. Second, early childhood teachers’ femininity with respect to moral norms is analyzed based on patriarchal ideology. This study provides insights about early childhood teachers’ paradoxical positions related to conventional gender norms of femininity. Finally, implications for ECE teacher preparation programs will be discussed.

Author

• Eun-Ae Son, University of Georgia