Early Childhood Educators Reflect on Their Conversations with Families about Children's Diverse Gender Expression

This research captures early childhood educators' (ECEs') perspectives when communicating with families about their children's diverse gender expression. Since families and ECEs play a pivotal role in shaping young children's understandings of gender it is necessary to learn more about ECEs' communications with families. The data that informs this paper is derived from a qualitative research study that used semi-structured focus groups with 15 ECEs who work with young children, ages 3-5 years, at licensed early childhood centres in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The ECEs were invited to participate in two focus group sessions to discuss their experiences after recalling conversations with families whose children identify outside the traditional constructs of masculine boy/feminine girl. One central finding the ECEs observe is the displeasure fathers have when their sons engage in feminine interests, including the affective actions the fathers then take to remove stereotypically feminine coded activities from their sons' lives. This research highlights the need for ongoing early childhood education training on gender diversity to better support non-binary, transgender children, and children from 2SLGBTQIA+ families.