Attend the 5th SIG Gender Balance Research Conference during your stay in Bologna

5th SIG Gender Balance Research Conference: Gender and Gender Balance in the context of diversity

When: Tuesday, 29.8.2017, 9.00-16.00
Where:  Complesso Belmeloro, University of Bologna, Via Belmeloro, Bologna, Italy
Conference fee: 25 € for room, food and beverage (shared between participants). Fee will be collected upon arrival – please bring cash.
Chairs: Kari Emilsen (Trondheim, Norway) & Tim Rohrmann (Dresden, Germany)
The SIG gender balance conference is a place for researchers to exchange research ideas, strategies, and results in the field of gender balance. The members of the SIG support the aim of increasing the proportion of male workers towards a more gender-balanced ECEC work force. At the same time there is a need for a more differentiated view and research on several aspects of the issue. This year’s conference will give even more room for mutual debate among participants. Two relevant issues will be focused:

1. We connect the debate on gender balance with the issue of gender sensitive pedagogy and gender equality. In research on men in ECEC, it has been criticized that more men in ECEC can lead to more gender stereotyping. At the same time, it has been argued that a better gender balance is an important part of strategies for gender equality. Presentations of recent research from the UK, Norway and Poland will be followed by a debate on gender balance and gender equality in national ECEC policies. To be able to discuss this topic together, participants are asked to prepare relevant material from their respective countries.
2. Building up on last year’s debate on male “drop outs”, the issue of career trajectories of men in and out of ECEC will be discussed. Teachers, providers and policy makers in many countries are concerned of the problem of higher drop-out rates of males in ECEC training and practice. On the other hand, men working in ECEC seek – and find – career perspectives out of the field of ECEC. Starting with an exchange of individual cases, it is intended to form an international study group on this issue with the aim of a joint publication in 2019.

Finally, there will be room for exchange on future research and collaboration in the SIG group. With this, the conference comprises the Annual meeting of the EECERA Special Interest Group Gender Balance. It is open to all interested researchers.
Agenda
9.00 Reception and welcome

1. Round talk – recent developments
2. Presentation of SIG organization team

9.45 Men’s presence in challenging children’s gender stereotypes in ECEC

1. Recent research on the relevance of men for challenging stereotypes in ECEC

• Experiences from a field study in an ECEC center with many male workers
  (Jo Warin, Lancaster, UK)
• Male adolescents as “play resources” in kindergarten – new images of
  masculinity? (Kari Emilsen & Elin Birgitte Ljunggren, Trondheim, Norway)
• Challenging stereotypes – research on men in ECEC in Poland
  (Anna Bujnowska, Lublin, Poland)

10.30 Tea & coffee break
10.45 Men & challenging gender stereotypes continued

1. Round table: Challenging gender stereotypes – an issue in national policies and/or
   curricula for ECEC?
2. Participants are asked to prepare short reports about the situation in their countries
   Debate: Consequences and suggestions for further research

12.00 Lunch break
13.30 Career Trajectories of Men in – and out of – ECEC

1. Exchange in small groups: Cases of “drop-outs” brought in by participants
2. Proposal for an international study group on work longevity among men in ECEC
   (David Brody, Israel)

15.00 Tea & coffee break
15.30 Final round: Issues and strategies for research on gender balance
16.00 End of conference
 
If you wish to attend this event, please complete the registration form and return it to Anna Bujnowska.