Using Books in Early Childhood to Prevent the Assumption of Traditional Gender Roles

Abstract

Recently, the question of gender has become a popular topic of discussion. Gender issues are also found in early childhood education, where male students are considered to be more active, and to dominate the class, and female students are considered to be more passive and to tend to be shy. Teachers and administrators are mostly female, and non-text materials – children's activity books – that are used in early childhood education contain material that reflects gender bias. As a result, this study aimed to produce a textbook that reflects gender equality. The study aimed to 1) develop and design early childhood education textbooks that promote the notion of gender equality, and 2) examine the suitability of early childhood education book designs that promote gender equality. The ADDIE model was used in this study, and the output was a children's activity book comprising eight themes that emphasize gender equality, and which was subjected to a feasibility test. The research participants were children of 5–6 years old who attended kindergarten in Indonesia, media experts, content experts, and other stakeholders. We collected data through interview, observations, and surveys. We analyzed data both qualitatively and quantitatively. The research instrument was an observation sheet. The results of data analysis show that textbooks with content that promotes gender equality are suitable for early childhood education learning processes. This finding is based on material and learning tool validation, as well as on implementing the textbook with kindergarten students. Thus, a children's activity book that has a clear, direct, and explicit theme of gender equality was developed for use in early childhood education. The developed activity book is expected to become an early childhood education reference book that does not emphasize gender roles, and promotes gender equality.