Pedagogische professionaliteit in de kinderopvang: een genderkwestie?

Abstract

Recently, the idea that women are (naturally) equipped to pro-vide adequate care for young children is being questioned. Me-dia debates regularly produce articles that express concern about the possible negative effects of the almost exclusively female en-vironment for young boys in child care. Apparently, being a female childcare worker is no longer enough. This article explores the supposed relationship between pedagogical professionalism and gender with regard to child care. The (preliminary) study was carried out in 2004, involving more than 80 childcare workers, taking intermediate vocational training (MBO) in Social Pedagogic Work (SPW), to qualify them for work in childcare. Results show that continuing to reduce the characteristics and qualities needed in the childcare sector to (a question of) gender, is detracting from the developing pedagogical professional-ism of the staff currently working in childcare.