‘Me not a Boy,Me a Person!’: Deconstructing Gendered Interactional Patterns in Early Childhood

Abstract

The post-structuralist literature provides the early childhood field with a powerful analytical tool for deconstructing patterns of interaction as well as helping to question the assumptions held about teaching and learning. However, most of this literature is written in ways which make it inaccessible. This paper discusses the construction of gender and the storylines that evolve through the use of a metaphor of the story of The Three Bears. Examples of interactions in child care and preschool are given with the view to making this important literature more accessible and relevant to child care and preschool settings.