Preschool children’s discourses on gender during dramatic play from critical perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to explore dramatic play processes from a Marxist-Feminist perspective as a context in which preschool children express their understanding of gender and related issues. This qualitative study utilized critical discourse analysis to focus on the meaning created among children through their interaction while playing. The current study, with its idea of the active construction of gender and its critical attitude, goes beyond other studies that focus only on stereotypes and are influenced by constructivist approaches. The children's discourses on gender are organized into four Marxist-Feminist related categories as stereotypes, false consciousness, inequality in production, and power relations. The results showed that the inequalities in the social context of children are reflected in the educational environment through dramatic themes, play roles, and materials used in dramatic play. At the same time, children challenged these inequalities from time to time by using the dramatic structure.