Ntinas, K., Kalerante, E., Papadopoulou, P. & Kontopoulou, A. 2012. Overt and covert violence against kindergarten girls: manifestation and apparent inurnment. In International Conference Proceedings: Human Rights and violent behaviour: the social and educational perspective. Nicosia, Cyprus: 141-155

We have systematically recorded and evaluated the findings of the International Carrier (OECD) and Greek Research Centers (EKKE) due the mounting evidence of violence in Elementary Education reported by them. We ascertained the availability of limited research data zeroing into the visible and invisible manifestations of violence on Kindergarten girls, i.e. those not discerned by the educators trainees who do their practice in the Kindergarten environment. The team work used Kindergarten as a research field where children’s spontaneous language and behavior codes conveyed penchants to violence corresponding to established gender stereotypes. We used a 109 senior level academy student sample in repetitive semi-shaped interviews. We tried to ascertain how these future educators perceive violence and at the same time overlook it. More specifically, our questions gradually progressed from an overall definition of violence to a closer analysis of violence against girls with points of reference to gender stereotypes. Our research was two-fold, examining the “visible” and “invisible” manifestations on the one hand, and studying an inurnment like acceptance or tolerance and underestimation of the consequences of violence on the part of future educators on the other hand, the later fitting into a broader theoretical model of gender inequality. Without overlooking the significance of particularities the research conclusively resolves that the future educators’ sociological observations of “hybrid collectivity”, as well as their inconclusive interpretation-free overview of the daily routine of early childhood, do not particularly borrow from studies done on gender which seemingly operate at a mere theoretical level.

Overt and covert violence against kindergarten girls