THE CONSTRUCTION OF GENDER IN THE PLAYGROUND

Abstract

In the vast majority of educational centers, the playground area has a very significant socializing role among the students, but these interactions are not free of sexism. The behavior of the students depending on the occupation of the spaces and the choice of activities in this recreation time can contribute to a greater or lesser equality of opportunities. For this reason, the purpose of this research is to detect sexist behavior of students during recess time, based on the transformation of spaces and activities in the playground of a Primary Education center. The methodology used has consisted of a case study, in which a total of 250 students (117 girls and 133 boys) have participated, belonging to a school in the province of Valencia. The results show that the transformation of spaces and activities in the playground fosters social relationships among students, regardless of gender or age, with equal opportunities for both girls and boys, reducing the number of conflicts in this time interval. Therefore, the transformation of school playgrounds into active, inclusive and co-educational playgrounds is recommended; where the entire educational community must be involved in order to carry out this transformation.