To encourage all children to stay in school, deconstruct gender stereotypes and keep children from adhering to them as much as possible, it is crucial to put into practice a feminist pedagogy, one that ultimately aims to eliminate the inequalities existing between men and women. According to Penny Welch (1994: 156), all feminist pedagogies are based on three principles, their common goal being to:

• Establish egalitarian relations in the classroom;
• Ensure that students feel valued as individuals; and
• Use the students’ experiences as a source of learning.

To these principles, Burke and Jackson would add that “the pedagogical activity should be transformative” (Pagé, Solar and Lampron, 2018, p. 8). Building on these principles, this information sheet provides a number of general recommendations that you can integrate into your pedagogical practice to deconstruct gender stereotypes with primary school pupils. To help you target your actions, this sheet deals with seven different themes: interactions with children, proposed activities and models, reading and writing, sex education and hypersexualisation, actions on the part of the team, actions to take with the parents and self-reflection. For each of these themes, there are a series of general recommendations followed by more specific recommendations for boys and for girls. The goal is not to further differentiate between boys and girls but simply to recognize that at this age, gender-based socialization has already had an impact and some stereotypes acquired by boys and by girls need to be dealt with differently.

Interactions with students

General recommendations:

1. Vary your teaching practices to reach as many children as possible and allow all individuals in your class to learn in the way that works best for them.
   • Help children to think critically about gender stereotypes by: encouraging reflection and raising awareness whenever you spot an opportunity;
   • openly criticizing stereotyped images in the public space;
   • drawing attention to gender stereotypes while using web applications on their tablets and computers, or when playing video games;
   • questioning the stereotypes or prejudices perpetuated by students or other people; and
   • Correcting the impression that there are specific activities for women and others for men.
2. Create a climate conducive to learning and self-expression by:
   • Reacting to sexist, racist, inappropriate and discriminatory words;
   • Not challenging children who do not comply with stereotypes and by correcting children who make comments about these behaviours or make fun of them; and
   • Encouraging children to show open-mindedness regarding the choices of other children and by showing them that an individual’s gender does not limit that person’s toy and activity options.
3. Teach children to respect others and that making fun of others will not be tolerated. Teach children how to respond to mockery and discuss the consequences of bullying.
4. Raise your pupils’ awareness every day about the use of the following slurs: sissy, queer, girlie boy, fag, homo, fruit, dyke, lesbo, butch, tomboy, etc. Intervene systematically to show that the use of such terms is unacceptable.
5. Encourage all students equally.
6. React verbally when faced with situations involving inequality and discuss them with the children to deconstruct stereotypes, encouraging them to change their perceptions and adopt more equalitarian values.
7. Compliment the children for whom they are and not for their appearance.
8. In sports where gender stereotypes are highly prevalent, intervene quickly when you hear someone say something discriminatory.
9. In physical education class, avoid asking two pupils to take turns picking classmates to make up their teams because this encourages intimidation and reinforces stereotypes; instead, set up the teams yourself before the beginning of class.
10. Feminise texts and expressions so that everyone feels included in what you write and when you speak to pupils and their parents.
11. Verify the children’s perceptions and feelings of competency regarding some subjects like English and math as well as the values they attach to those subjects to intervene discreetly:
    • Girls experience more anxiety and often feel less competent than boys in math. They need support and encouragement; and
    • Boys often attach less importance to English and reading. They should be encouraged early to discover the enjoyment these subjects procure.
12. Reassure the children in their capacities, while recognizing their preferences and especially, insist that anything is possible for girls and for boys.
13. Speak to the children about equality between women and men. Transmit equality-related values.
14. Allow boys and girls to speak equally, by inviting boys and girls to speak in turn for instance.

Recommendations for boys:

1. Find alternatives to suspension and expulsion for dealing with unruly boys.
2. Stimulate their emotional learning and help them learn to express emotions more easily. Value emotions.
3. Encourage their artistic talents.
4. Foster their adhesion to the value of academic success; encourage them to see this as a value for both men and women.

Recommendations for girls:

1. Be vigilant about the invisible needs of girls. Attention must be paid to signs of dropping out in girls, who are not as often labelled as potential drop-outs and who more often internalize their difficulties.
2. Try to make transitions easier, particularly the transition from primary to secondary school, since girls are more sensitive during this transition.
3. Value and encourage girls to speak in class (make sure they have parity during class discussions, introduce practical tools and activities to build confidence in public speaking, etc.).
4. Reduce stereotype threat by introducing a reinforcing discussion at the beginning of an activity, pointing out that all pupils can do well in the activity.
5. Act preventively to foster good self-esteem and a healthy body perception in girls.
6. Encourage girls to speak in class.