Genusvurpor : en essä om hur samhällsnormen frodas i förskolan

Sammanfattning: In my thesis I have chosen to examine pre-school from a gender perspective, focusing on the current norms of society that are also influencing pre-school. My thesis is written in the form of an essay, which means that reflections are a substantial part, and writing has become a part of my process of learning. My thesis originates in three different situations that I have experienced during the years I have been working in the pre-school. These situations show how I, as a pre-school educator, unconsciously am a part of creating norms, patterns and gender. The curriculum of the pre-school has been the basis of this thesis, and an important part has been to interpret what the mission of pre-school is in practice. I start by explaining the concepts of sex, gender and norms, and continue by describing how preschool can be viewed as an institution preserving the norms. In the next part of the thesis I have looked more deeply into the three situations, my own gender mistakes. By using literature and my own experiences my objectives have been to find out how I, as an educator, consciously or unconsciously affect the children’s thoughts about gender roles and gender patterns. I reflect upon values, approaches and methods, and what it means to be creative around norms. Work in pre-school is always a tradeoff between being private and being professional, with a personal touch, and my conclusion is that it is not always easy despite the best of intentions. I am influenced by my own situation and the norms around me, and that is the reason why I repeatedly feel that I fail. The only way of creating change is to have an open mind, to be curious, and to dare reflecting upon my own actions. This way I become conscious about my own acting and the consequences it results in. I choose to like my mistakes and make the most of the knowledge that each mistake can give me.