Insights and the importance of (researching) children’s perspectives on gender

The final chapter encompasses insights drawn from answers to the research questions. Children identified types of activities and ascribed different emotions to their male and female teachers. Staffing and organizational structure of the sites related to children’s gender perspectives as well. Gender as category was apparent in assignment of teacher roles which often took place according to gender ethos, while gender distribution was apparent with gender matching between children and their teachers in activities according to cultural contexts. In all the case studies, gender as discourse was largely absent on adult and child levels. Intersectionalities between aspects of the macro, meso, and micro ecologies, such as race, ethnicity, and religion added depth of understanding to parent, teacher, and child attitudes towards gender. Gendered norms that limit children’s and adults’ full participation were prevalent in the case studies to various extents, suggesting recommendation of policies that promote gender-sensitive teaching and parenting. Understanding unique cultural-specific gender discourses in each country is essential to achieve gender-sensitive practice. Finally, researcher reflexivity revealed positive influences of the insider-outsider stance, family status, political views and theoretical positioning of the researchers on their ability to collect and interpret data in a nuanced and productive manner.