Abstract

According to Ayim and Houston (1996), sexism can be defined as any attempt to see the

value of a persons or their activities as determined by their sex (p.16). In education, sexism

presents itself in the difference in treatment of boys versus girls by teachers and throughout the

curriculum. Unfortunately, this may attribute to the achievement gap in schools. The

achievement gap created through sexism in early education entails separate educational tracts

for girls and boys that lead in opposite directions, this stance effectively rejects both the common

humanity of the two sexes and the centuries-old struggle for gender equality (Martin, 1996, p.

ix). This research expressed how sexism existed in the past and in what ways it exists or does not

exist in early education classrooms today. This study has two purposes. The first was to look at

how institutionalized sexism has been defined for early education. The second purpose of this

study was to determine if there is sexism within early childhood education (PreK-2) classrooms.

Therefore, the research question is: How do teachers interactions with students influence

institutionalized sexism in Early Education (PreK-2) classrooms? Data was collected through

classroom observations over one academic year and interviews with three elementary school

teachers and two preschool teachers in the San Francisco Bay area. This study is important

because the results of this study will provide updated understanding on sexism in early education

today and how it is or is not being addressed.