Same-sex families as a topic in the Nova Gorica kindergartens

A family represents the beginning of someone's life. In the family a child acquires patterns, examples and directions for the future life. Families have their own sets of rules and functions which make the difference between them. As the families differ from each other, the same goes for individuals. The gender is one of the first divisions we face in our lives. It is assigned to us, although our opinion is not asked for. The gender is not a division between male and female. The social impact leads to gender roles and interpretations of the differences between male and female. We have to take into account stereotypes and prejudices that are taken for granted. Without knowing we let them define our perception of the world and limit us making decisions. Homosexuality often succumbs to stereotypes and prejudices of the heterosexual society. This often leads to discrimination. This relates to same-sex families as well. They are not taken for granted by the society. Stereotypes are not rooted only in the society, but they are linked to the education system. The aim of the thesis, representing the central part of it, is to gather data about the views of the teachers of pre-school children in kindergartens in Nova Gorica regarding the same-sex families; involving the theme of family and same-sex family in kindergartens; and regarding the possible their behavior in the framework of planning, educating in case a child from a same-sex family is in her group. I gained data by using a questionnaire including mainly questions of an open style. The results showed teachers' neutral positions regarding the issue of same-sex gender; they involve the issue of families in the activities, but they do not involve the same-sex family issue, although most of them think that the issue is suitable to be dealed with in the kindergarten. The answers showed that stereotypes and prejudices and the fear of other people opinion still influence and limit the free choice of the themes in kindergartens