Stereotypes influence how a person perceive one’s self and one’s self-identity, how one

thinks, speaks and acts. It may impact social interactions and it may be the source
various prejudices and discrimination (Khan et al., 2012). Stereotypes is “a set of beliefs
about the characteristics of a social group or category, whereby members of that
category are assumed to have certain characteristics, based purely on their
membership of that group” (King et al., 2021). Stereotypes cover a wide range of
categories such as race, gender, religion, socio-economic status, disability, or
demographic groups.

Stereotypes exist not only in the community but more importantly inside the homes and
schools. Schools provide students opportunities for learning and for social growth,
development and transformation. Children spend most of their time and childhood at
school. This is significant because early childhood education is an essential period for
child learning as well as development as it builds the foundations of skills and
knowledge which the child will use and develop as he/she further grows and learns
(Weinert et al., 2016;), and such development (both social and emotional) is vital to the
child’s well-being and eventual success (Darling-Churchill & Lippman, 2016). The
presence of stereotypes can injure gender perceptions and attitude of children which is
why it is important to address such problem before stereotypes become engrained.
Early childhood education therefore is an excellent period to kickstart actions toward
developing reasonable gender behaviors and attitudes.

This essay talks about gender stereotypes and its impact on educational outcomes of
young learners. Commentaries and information from three sources were analyzed and
compared in order to see some stereotypes and prejudices that are apparent from the
materials and the perceptions of the people whose opinions and beliefs were featured in
the sources.

The selected sources were: (1) a YouTube video titled “Should Guys Pay on the First
Date”; (2) the Disney movie ‘Frozen’; and (3) a 2021 journal article by Seline McCoy, et
al.: “Gender stereotyping in mothers’ and teachers’ perceptions of boys’ and girls’
mathematics performance in Ireland”.
There are circumstances when boys and girls and men and women act differently, and
other circumstances as well where they act similarly. These differences and/or
similarities in behavior are stemmed from gender role beliefs and stereotypes which
eventually epitomize how people perceive social roles in the community (Eagly & Wood,
2012). Agents of socialization such as family, peers, religion, media and community
contribute to this as well. People, especially children, tend to judge others by making
inferences on the basis of their respective gender stereotypical knowledge and
expectations towards the latter (Dinella, 2001). One example is that men are often
perceived as agentic, while women are considered as communal (Rudman et al., 2012).
Unfortunately, gender stereotypes even become norms which is why it is challenging to
initiate some changes and transformations.

In the case of children, it can be observed that during play, some toys like cars, trucks
and various tools are designed for boys; whereas, playing with toys such as stuffed
animals and dolls are interesting and fun for girls. They learn some facets of
stereotypes at a very young age. As early as three years old, some children already
display some basic knowledge regarding the things which can be associated to his/her
gender (Dinella, 2001). Their conformity to gender stereotypes can be harmful insofar
as it can affect opportunities and their lives in general, which is why school-based
interventions should be put in place (Spinner et al., 2021).

In the 2019 YouTube video, the topic was gender roles in relationships and the
questions was: Should guys pay on the first date? The video was an interview which
consisted of Filipino adult males and females as participants. When asked the said
question, there was no unanimity; some answered ‘yes’, while other responded ‘no’.
This made the interview more interesting as various opinions were heard from the
individuals. One guy who answered ‘yes’ explained that the society is not yet ready for a
world where women pay on the first date, or where women are capable of such things.
Another guy added that it is the task of men to impress women, which was
supplemented by another’s statement that it would be embarrassing if the man let the
woman pay instead. These men seemed to have one thing in common, that is, they
were of similar view that men should always be proud, never embarrassed, and must
assert, whether expressly or impliedly, his power, authority, dominance and control. In
addition, it was noticeable that the word “expectation/s” was mentioned several times,
as they propounded that what the man does on the first encounter will set future
expectations. On the other hand, an unpopular opinion was that the one who asked the
other person out must be the one responsible for paying the bill. Another was that it is
possible to share and divide the cost to be fair. Their various opinions, according to
them, were formed based on movies, novels, and expectations, cultures, and traditions
set by previous generations. A good finding was majority of the participants were aware
that it is about time for the society to terminate gender roles, and to accept and promote
balance between and equality among men and women. This shows that it is possible
that the society is already at the stage where it is open to new, and unfamiliar
things/ideas. This is a good starting point for school administrators and teachers in case
they are conflicted on whether to destroy gender roles and whether such move will be
effective and indeed will be beneficial to their students.

The second source was the movie Frozen. At first glance, it is worth-mentioning that the
movie teaches various lessons to its audience like controlling emotions and themes
such as self-discovery, self-acceptance and imperfections. For this paper, the focus was
solely on the main character, Elsa. In other Disney princess movies, the prince always
plays the role of a masculine hero. Further, in most cartoons, men are portrayed as
brave, sporty, energetic, and strong; while women are romantic, sensitive, emotional,
and attractive (Ward & Aubrey, 2017). However, in Frozen, the most obvious deviation
from the usual norm is the portrayal of Elsa as a powerful heroine, who is not reliant on
men. However, various gender roles/expectations are still evident in the movie. Women
are still depicted as the ones who are supposed to sacrifice. In other words, women
must put the needs and interest of others first, thus the notion that women are
subordinate (Streiff & Dundes, 2017). Another unfortunate message delivered by the
movie is that for women, being liked, loved and accepted bring ultimate fulfilment. It
promotes the idea that women must please everyone on order to be accepted and
validated. In addition to this, in Frozen, Elsa cannot have a prince. Otherwise, the fact
that her prince is less powerful than her will make the image of the prince so
embarrassing and unappealing. Simply put, the prince would be emasculated. There is
danger in this form of media because media is powerful in shaping the minds, opinion
and perception of children about gender, which later impacts how they think, act and
behave (Ward & Aubrey, 2017). In effect, a child’s sense of self and individuality will
also be influenced. This supports the claims of the YouTube interview participants that
they got their perceptions in relation to the role of men from movies. It must be pointed
out that the participants in the interview were all adults. This simply means that all
notions and perceptions that they presently have were the results of decades of
stereotyping. Indeed, movies, among other media, is a tool that heavily influence
people, how they think and act, including their beliefs. Again, this explains the danger of
exposing children to gender stereotypes and gender roles. This influence can be
countered by educators through media-literacy education where they introduce to
children counter-stereotypical contents (Ward & Aubrey, 2017). Some examples of this
would be introducing male characters who are not aggressive, and who freely express
emotions and empathy; or giving them stories that challenge gender roles and
stereotypes (Spinner et al., 2021).

The last source is a 2017 journal article titled “Gender stereotyping in mothers’ and
teachers’ perceptions of boys’ and girls’ mathematics performance in Ireland”. McCoy et
al., (2021) found that the children’s mathematical ability was assessed on the basis of
the perceptions of teachers and parents, influenced by the fact that the achievements of
boys when it comes to math are overestimated, while that of girls are underestimated.
Women are underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) (Law et al., 2021; Ertl et al., 2017). There is an existing gender
bias in favor of males when it comes to the field of STEM because of the notion that
males are innately smarter than females in subjects that require higher intellectual
capabilities. In the workplace, it is also apparent that most workers assigned in
technology-related tasks are males. This kind of perception is detrimental to children’s
educational outcomes and opportunities. On one hand, female students will never be
given the opportunity to prove their capacities and capabilities and consequently, this
will limit their participation and engagement; and on the other hand, male students will
always feel pressured and burdened that they need to perform excellently in STEM
domains which will eventually affect their well-being.
A common theme among the three sources is that men are superior, while women are
subordinate and weak, thus the latter’s need for acceptance, approval and support.
However, the good part is that all sources create opportunities for educators to initiate
changes through interventions. The contents of the sources were all aimed at making
educators need to deviate from gender norms, roles and stereotypes in order to create
better learning and development opportunities for young students.

These issues on gender stereotyping can be addressed by providing school-based

interventions or cognitive-based interventions. Such forms of intervention can help
lessen gender stereotyping in young learners by teaching them about gender roles,
stereotypes, gender-based similarities and differences and challenging these concepts
as well (Spinner et al., 2021). Also, Chung & Huang (2021) found that exposing children
to counter-stereotypical information can destroy gender stereotypes in very young
children. However, as pointed out by Spinner et al. (2021), the interventions should be a
result of a collaboration between educators and researchers in order for it to be
effective. These interventions are proven to have the potential of effectively breaking
gender roles and stereotypes in early childhood education.

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