By the time children turn five, they’ve already absorbed ideas about what it means to be a boy or a girl. These ideas—shaped by parents, teachers, and the world around them—can influence their dreams, their choices, and even the way they see themselves. But what if we could change that?
An ambitious early childhood education project set out to challenge these traditional gender norms and open doors for children to pursue their interests freely, without the weight of societal expectations.
The Early Childhood Gender Sensitization for Early Childhood Practitioners in the Caribbean Project, coordinated by The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, School of Education, and funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) through the Basic Needs Trust Fund and UNICEF, took on this challenge.
“Traditionally, what we see in our communities is people stereotyping the jobs and activities that we can do because we are born male or female. So one of the things we are trying to do is to not limit anybody’s dreams,” said Dr. Sheron Burns, Project Coordinator and Lecturer in Early Childhood Education.
Dr. Burns has seen firsthand how gendered beliefs shape children’s experiences, from the toys they’re given to the roles they see in books and classroom materials. But why should interests be boxed in by gender?
To shift these mindsets, the School of Education and CDB developed a groundbreaking curriculum: Introduction to Gender Socialization in Early Childhood Education.
The project wasn’t just about research—it was about action. Over 50 trainers attended workshops, leading to more than 200 early childhood practitioners, parents, teacher educators, and community members across several Caribbean nations being introduced to gender-responsive early childhood practices.
The curriculum was piloted in both public and private day-care centers, preschools, and primary schools across the region.
Throughout the project, many teachers found themselves reflecting deeply on their own ingrained views of gender.
Another common challenge was the confusion between gender identity and sexuality. “That was one of the things that people were getting mixed up: a boy loving to cook doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s gay, and a girl wanting to be a mechanic doesn’t mean that she can’t be a good mother or good wife,” Dr. Burns explained. “These are some of the myths that we are trying to dispel too; that gender is socially governed, sex is how you were born, and who you love is something completely different.”
On September 25, 2018, the final module was officially handed over to Director of the School of Education, Professor Joel Warrican, marking a significant step toward transforming early childhood education in the Caribbean.