stereotypes-stop

A PROJECT BASED IN FIVE PRIMARY SCHOOLS ABOUT
GENDER STEREOTYPES
The NUT worked for two years with five primary schools to consider how
‘traditional’ gender stereotypes could be challenged in nursery and
primary classrooms. The project quickly acquired the name Breaking the
Mould. The five schools were provided with support and training.
This booklet provides an overview of how the different schools looked at
the impact of gender stereotypes on young people and considered how
they could begin to unsettle some of the established assumptions about
what girls and boys might like or do.
These three supporting publications are also available at
www.teachers.org.uk/educationandequalities/breakingthemould:
• Boys’ Things and Girls’ Things –- challenging stereotypical choices
and behaviours contains detailed examples of how staff worked to
address gender stereotypes in primary classrooms and sections on
adopting a whole school approach, toys, ambitions and jobs, sports
and playtime, and creating and updating new resources.
• It’s Child’s Play: Challenging gender stereotypes through reading
contains a set of accompanying notes on the project books and how
to use them, plus more information on using children’s literature to
challenge gender stereotypes.
• An article called Breaking the Mould: children’s books that challenge
gender stereotypes.
Investigating different ways to use children’s literature was at the heart
of the project – the project books are listed on page 30.
The Appendices mentioned throughout, and listed at the end of, this
booklet are available on the same web page.
The NUT would like to thank the author of this report Mark Jennett
without whom this project would not have been possible.