An Ethnographic Study of Gender Socialization in Early Childhood Education in China

Abstract

This study examines how gender socialization is produced and reproduced in a Chinese mainland kindergarten, with a particular focus on the roles of children, teachers, and institutional practices. Drawing on Social Cognitive Theory as the primary framework and informed by Social Constructionism and the concept of “Doing Gender,” the study adopts a multi-level analytical approach to understand gender as a learned, enacted, and institutionalized process. The research uses a qualitative design that integrates classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with three teachers, and visual data, including photographs of classroom materials. The data are analyzed through a combination of thematic analysis and discourse analysis to explore how gender norms are expressed, transmitted, and normalized in everyday practice. The findings show that children actively reproduce and regulate gender norms through peer interaction and play, rather than passively receiving them. Teachers contribute to gender socialization primarily through habitual language, differentiated expectations, and routine classroom practices, often without explicit awareness. At the institutional level, gender norms are embedded in daily routines, material arrangements, and curriculum content, where they are repeatedly presented as natural and taken-for-granted features of social life. The study argues that gender socialization in early childhood education operates through the interaction of individual learning processes, interactional practices, and institutional structures. These processes are largely unintentional but mutually reinforcing. The findings also highlight the role of teacher reflexivity and curriculum choices as potential points of intervention for promoting more equitable gender practices. This study contributes to the literature by providing an integrated account of gender socialization in a mainland Chinese kindergarten context, where existing research remains limited.