”För att hon är tjej och tjejer kan inte vara pirat” : En studie om den fria leken och genus

Our purpose with this study is to examine free play from a gender perspective. We explore in which ways free play is free, as well as how pedagogues view their own role in free play alongside, their views on gender and how these impact upon their actions. The study seeks, to contribute to a greater understanding of free play and what factors influence it, so that pedagogues may gain a greater understanding and use free play in the best way possible for children. The study is based on the following questions: · Free play, how free is it? · How is gender expressed in free play when it comes to social interaction and children’s interaction with materials? · In what way do pedagogues assumptions about gender reveal themselves when supervising free play? For this study we used qualitative methods combining six interviews with preschool teachers and several observations at two different preschools. The theories used in this study is a combination of sociocultural and poststructuralist perspectives. Our results shows that generally the pedagogues had the same understanding on free play and that they are aware of the opportunities free play may provide for the children. Secondly this study shows how children use the materials provided at the preschool differently. While the boys and girls in this study use the materials to communicate and interact, the boys often did this in a more active way while the girls were more calm. Lastly, all pedagogues interviewed expressed their concerted efforts to strive towards gender equality in preschools