Page 6 - LESSION 20.pmd

Understanding Diversity

both the father and the mother encourage traditional gender roles in their children.
Core gender identity is usually formed by the age of three years. After that, it
Notes is extremely difficult to change, and attempts to change it can be difficult. Both
biological and social factors influence its formation.

Differences in treatment between girls and boys make them sensitive towards
their expected roles in the society. These roles may not always promote equality
of opportunities among gender. Presence or absence of girls in the classroom
not only affect the teaching learning process but also places a demand on the
administration to create facilities for girls in terms of physical infrastructure.
One major manifestation of this is the provision separate toilets for them and
special training of the human resource of the centre in gender-sensitive issues.

The desired modification in the teaching learning process includes creating
learning situations which allows equal participation of both genders. Similarly,
while encouraging children to be physically active in the ECCE centre, the
teacher should take care that the girls equally participate in the activities like
running, climbing, playing with a bat and ball, football etc. and involving boys
in playing with dolls, kitchen set and doll houses.

The dropout rates of girls, specially from the marginalized sections of society
and the rural areas continues to be grim. Schools must ensure the girl child feels
welcome and secure. In case the girl is disabled or challenged or belongs to
disadvantaged or weaker section of the society, she faces double or triple
discrimination. Firstly because she is a girl, secondly due to her disability or
challenge and lastly of being born in the disadvantaged or weaker community
thus aggravating the situation.

Socio-economic status

This is one of the major factors responsible for diversity in the classroom. Those
belonging to lower or higher socio-economic groups need to be given due space
in the textbooks, curriculum and classroom activities. All children should be
treated as equal irrespective of their socio-economic background. Uniforms for
school children were perhaps initiated with the same philosophical assumption.

The diversity due to socio-economic status is more apparent in those ECCE
centres where children are not expected to wear a uniform, leaving them free
to dress in casuals or home wear or home clothes. The diversity in the clothes
worn by the children indicates a lot about the financial and social status of the
family. The same is also true about their school bags and the school stationery
(geometry box, lunch box, pencil, crayons etc).Diversity due to socio-economic
status can be utilised as teaching learning resource as each child brings with them
their own experiences to the classroom which can be shared and used for
teaching learning.
190 EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION