Women and men in education services: comparison of gender representation in Italian pre-school (0-6) services

This contribution presents a part of the results of the research project entitled “Stereotipi di genere, relazioni educative e infanzie” (“Gender stereotypes, educational relationships and childhood") conducted between 2010 and 2012 by a group of researchers from the CSGE (Gender and Education Study Centre) of the University of Bologna, funded by the Emilia-Romagna Region. The research aimed to measure the ideas and representations of gender and the gender relations among adults who are educationally significant for preschool children (0-6 years), and to develop widespread reflection on the issue of the stereotyped images of female and male identity that still exist and are transmitted from a very early age. This article particularly focuses on the analysis developed on gender representations in educational services 0-6 years by the professionals working in the centres involved, relating quantitative data with the considerations that emerged from the focus groups, about the female and male in education.