Prismigender: exploring kindergarten teachers’ gender awareness through text and image in children’s books

Abstract

This study examines how Israeli early childhood educators interpret and mediate gender representations in children’s picture books used in kindergarten classrooms, through a critical gender lens. The research introduces the PrismiGender framework, a novel analytical model designed to support systematic visual-textual analysis of children's literature alongside reflection on educators’ pedagogical interpretations. Drawing on feminist poststructuralist and gender schema theories, the study explores how educators construct meaning from visual and verbal narratives and how these interpretations relate to their professional orientations and pedagogical decision-making. Findings indicate a persistent tension between intuitive, experience-based responses to gender representations and more critical, equity-oriented interpretations. This tension highlights variability in educators’ capacity for sustained critical engagement with gendered content in children's literature. By offering a structured tool for reflection and analysis, the PrismiGender framework supports the development of more inclusive, critically informed pedagogical practices in early childhood education.