Nursery World - A Unique Child: Inclusion

Is your nursery space working for or against gender diversity? Dr Jen Lyttleton-Smith examines why promoting gender diversity and avoiding stereotypical roles is important when working with young children, and how settings can change their practice and environment for the better

The recent BBC series No More Boys and Girls has brought the gender debate to the public eye, and alongside the current visibility of transgender identities within childhood (see ‘Fluid thinking’ by Caroline Vollans, www.nurseryworld.co.uk), there is an explosion of interest in gender and early childhood. With this increased public awareness, many parents and educators are seeking further guidance on how they can support diversity of gender expression for all children regardless of gender or sex.

To date, gender equality in education has been framed almost entirely in terms of exam results and explained largely by ‘natural differences’ in boys’ and girls’ abilities and interests, veering boys towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects and girls towards the humanities.

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