Genderpro(o)f! Towards equal opportunities for every child in primary school and childcare

About the project

Genderpro(o)f! is a two-year PWO project (Sept 2019 - Aug 2021) that aims to stimulate gender-conscious thinking and acting in school teams, teams in care for babies and toddlers and teams in out-of-school care. To this end, we have set up two support programmes .

The project provides information and material to make teams aware of gender-stereotypical thinking and acting, but also tools and interventions to evolve towards a gender-aware living and learning environment.

The main target groups are professionals in childcare organizations and primary education, and children aged 0-12 and their parents. The project focuses on four concrete domains: 1) space and materials, 2) play and activities, 3) interaction with children, and 4) communication with parents.

Stereotypes and prejudices

Stereotypes are ubiquitous in our society. That in itself is not a problem, but an oversupply and a lack of role models can limit children in their possibilities. After all, the average differences between boys and girls are very small (0.5% or less), but they are magnified by the environment (upbringing, media, peer pressure, etc.). Too little attention is often paid to individual differences or mutual similarities.

Children mainly practice activities in which they are stimulated, which increases their confidence and dexterity, so that small differences can grow into a large gap. Children with a migration background or a physical disability also sometimes underestimate themselves based on reactions from their environment and do not use their full potential. And even those who fall outside the binary norm often get into trouble.

Prejudice can therefore lead to peer pressure, the urge to achieve, drop out of school, unused talent and discrimination.

Genderpro(o)f therefore wants to guide professionals who work with young children, from childcare to the end of primary school. The ultimate goal of this research project is to create more equal opportunities for every child. We do not want to banish differences, but rather create more room for variation so that every child dares to fully choose his or her talent.