"Schools are like old fashioned factories, and what they produce is gendered individuals"
Keywords:
Same-sex education, Children's Education, Gender, Gender Studies, Irish Education SystemAbstract
Education plays a pivotal role in the way in which gender identities are con- structed and maintained. Aside from the immediate family unit, schools and the education system are one of the earliest places for the socialisation of children; as well as being one of the first places where children learn about and enact the different gender roles. Durkheim believed that the purpose of education “is to create adults out of children who reflect the ideals of their society”. A large part of these ideals are based around the socially constructed differences between the genders and the separate roles which men and women are expected to carry out. In this paper, I will attempt to outline and explore the myriad of ways in which education and the school environment influence the behaviour and attitudes of students and pro- mote the creation of their gender identities.
References
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