Addressing gender in early childhood education and care in Slovenia

Abstract We present how gender treatment is envisaged in the formal framework that defines early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Slovenia, with special emphasis on the curricular document, which frames the system and concept of ECEC in Slovenia. We present in detail how the latter deals with the issue of gender in individual areas of activities in ECEC settings. In addition, we present the results of the empirical survey we conducted among future early childhood educators where we explored whether in ECEC settings they would be willing to read fairy tales that open up the issue of gender from various perspectives, and if not, what reasons they give for this.


Introduction
The Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia (Constitution; Republic of Slovenia, 1991) emphasize that everyone is equal before the law and that everyone must be guaranteed equal human rights and fundamental freedoms irrespective of any personal circumstance, including gender (Art. 14).This constitutional provision generally prohibits discrimination (on the grounds of personal circumstances, including gender), and such discrimination is also explicitly prohibited by the Protection Against Discrimination Act (Republic of Slovenia, 2016, Art. 1).Prohibition of discrimination stems from the fact that Slovenia is a signatory to international instruments on human rights and freedoms.The concept of human rights (and duties) is therefore fundamental legal and ethical norm in Slovenia (Kovač Šebart, 2015, p. 138).It is the guiding principle and normative basis of education in public education institutions (PEIs; p. 140).Namely, these values are also incorporated into the framework objectives in the Organization and Financing of Education Act (Republic of Slovenia, 1996a) and in the sectoral act on the operationalization of ECEC (Republic of Slovenia, 1996b, Art. 4).This means that children in PEIs need to acquire the shared values inscribed in human rights that allow for the coexistence of diversity, including with regard to gender, at the levels of knowledge, feelings, and actions (Kovač Šebart & Krek, 2010, p. 105).For human rights to be enjoyed by all, they must be respected and exercised in relation to others.Accordingly, it is imperative that PEIs establish and maintain education that defends all individual others and seeks to uphold their rights and duties as well as the values that they derive from them (Kovač Šebart, 2015, p. 141).Early childhood educators (ECEs) must therefore confront children with the pluralism of the particular, including in public ECEC, thereby creating awareness that the values we take to be "natural" are not necessarily "natural" for others (Kovač Šebart & Kovač, 2018, pp. 50-51).Consequently, public ECEC settings need to enable children to perceive differences between people, and ECEs need to discuss these with children and make them understand that they should not be or become an excuse for discriminatory language or behavior (p. 31).Differences between people, if overlooked, dismissed, or favored by ECEs, may become sources of prejudice.Among the other things the survey conducted by the Council of Europe (2018) points out where overlooking the differences between people can lead.All the respondents from twelve members of the EU that participated in the survey, including Slovenia, reported gender-based violence in PEIs.Most of the victims were gay males and particularly, transgender people (pp. 22-23).
Nevertheless, the inclusion of gender (as well as sexual orientation and families with same-sex parents) in curricular documents and its addressing in pedagogical practice have been criticized in the Slovenian public for several years now.The critics argue that the inclusion of these topics in ECEC settings and schools amounts to indoctrination of children.This is clearly not the case, as it is evident from the interpretations and judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).The court judgments do not imply that public ECEC settings and ECEs should avoid dealing with content in which people's particular interpretations and evaluations differ.The ECHR judgments oblige the state, ECEC settings, and ECEs to address content in the educational process in accordance with the principles of objectivity, a critical approach, and pluralism.According to the interpretations of the ECHR, this is the way to guarantee the absence of indoctrination (ECHR, 2022, p. 16;cf. ECHR, 1976cf. ECHR, , 1996cf. ECHR, , 2006)).
However, respect for these principles and the requirement for non-indoctrination also mean that children in public ECEC settings should not be educated to adopt the values, norms, and attitudes about which different people and groups have different beliefs and different value systems.Educators are responsible for spotlighting them and enabling them to coexist.The human rights values framework does not prescribe the imparting of all values that concern children's individual morality; rather, it preserves and respects the right of parents to impart to their children values and beliefs that are not necessarily shared by all people in society and that are not imposed on them or do not give them a choice.
With regard to particular values and parents' education of their children, parents have namely the right "to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions" (ECHR, 1952, Art. 2).Considering the diversity and pluralism of particular values, ECEs in public ECEC settings need to create a safe space that allows for the coexistence of the specificities of minority and dominant social values and norms, where no child feels excluded, favored, or discriminated against because of their particular values (Kovač Šebart & Kuhar, 2017, p. 165).
This is important for the educational activities in ECEC settings.In the pursuit of curricular goals in the educational process, the aforementioned principles of objectivity, a critical approach, and pluralism dictate that ECEs should not avoid topics that may be divisive in terms of values.However, it is the manner in which they are treated that is crucial.The educational process must be carried out "in terms of new scientific knowledge defining individual fields of activity" (Republic of Slovenia, 1999, p. 8).At the same time, educators should encourage children to be critical of arguments that are not, in fact, arguments and to insist on recognizing differences "between knowledge and values, between knowledge and beliefs, [and] between facts and opinions" (Kovač Šebart, 2015, p. 143) in a way that is appropriate to children's developmental stage.
In this article, we present the findings of a case study in which we investigated whether the educational issues described in our introduction were reflected by students who were training to become ECEs in public ECEC settings in Slovenia. 1 We examined how they understood their professional role in them and how they reflected on gender-related issues in ECEC.More specifically, we investigated whether the students knew and understood what they should expect of children during the process of education in relation to gender roles, gender expression, and gender identity, in accordance with the law and the curricular document and would also act in accordance with it in ECEC settings.

Method
We present and interpret some of the findings from the study conducted by the first author of this article, Lukan (2019).We concentrate on the knowledge and attitudes expressed by students in ECEC program run by the Secondary ECEC School, Grammar School, and Performing Arts Grammar School in Ljubljana. 2These are the students, that can work as ECEs, right when they finish this programme.We chose all current students in mentioned programme to participate in the study, but not all of them or their teachers agreed to the request.Thus, this research was conducted with some of the students who were still training to become ECEs.The study sample comprised 201 students, 69 of whom were in the second year (aged around 16 years); 73 in the third year (aged around 17 years); and 59 in the fourth year (aged around 18 years) of the ECEC secondary school program.The sample consisted of 19 men, 181 women, and 1 respondent who did not identify with a gender within the gender binary.
Note here that although the survey was conducted four years ago, it remains relevant even today for several reasons.First, the third-and fourth-year students who participated in the survey may already be employed in ECEC settings.Second, the program in which the respondents participated has remained the same since then.Third, there have been two recent referendums in Slovenia, one in 2015 and another in 2020, where citizens voted on the human rights of LGBTQ + individuals, especially regarding the right to marry and the right to adopt children.Fourth, gender is a personal condition that often causes significant agitation among the general public in Slovenia (Kuhar & Zobec, 2017).ECEC settings and schools are under pressure not only to address this fact but also to incorporate it in the educational process.It has been repeatedly argued in public that there is an attempt to introduce "gender ideology or theory" into all spheres of society.Moreover, in part of the civil sphere (Kavčič et al., 2021;Primc, 2022), the guarantee of LGBTQ + rights at the legislative level is perceived as an attempt to introduce this ideology into the education system.As a result, prominent members of the public who oppose LGBTQ + rights have filed a complaint with the ECHR this year.They claim that they will use all the means necessary to educate children and parents to oppose LGBTQ + rights, thus preventing children from being taught to change their gender and sexual orientation (Political party, 2022).Thus, public pressure on ECEC settings has persisted since the survey was conducted, and there has been no recent research in Slovenia addressing this issue.
We asked the respondents whether they would read fairy tales to children in a public ECEC settings that addressed the abovementioned gender issues.We opted for fairy tales because according to the curriculum ECEs in Slovenia are responsible for equipping play corners with "books, periodicals, photographs, male and female baby dolls of all races, and items connected with everyday routines" (Republic of Slovenia, 1999, p. 40).In addition, the document provides that the role of adults in the educational process is to "tell and read children age-appropriate tales, stories, riddles, and songs" (p.24), and thus, through various activities, encourage children to read but also "to discuss and debate what has been read" (p.24).
Therefore, the students included in this study were asked questions that were process activity-neutral, since reading fairy tales in public ECEC settings is included in the curriculum.We were interested in whether the students, who were future ECEs, would act in a professionally appropriate way and in line with curriculum expectations at the time when they were asked about reading fairy tales that addressed different gender issues.If they did not share all the values and content related to understanding gender roles, gender expression, and gender identity, would they go against the requirements of the formal framework and avoid addressing the content (i.e.gender) that different people perceive differently?
Specifically, we will answer the research question on whether the responding students would be willing to read the following to children in a ECEC setting: 1. a fairy tale about a female person or a girl who would like to pursue everyday activities or a profession typically associated with the male gender; 2. a fairy tale about a female person or a girl who would like to dress and look in a way typically associated with the male gender; 3. a fairy tale about a person who is formally female but identifies with the male gender and wants to be treated as such.
In short, we were interested in whether the respondents would be willing to read to children in ECEC setting, age-appropriate fairy tales that deal with gender issues in terms of gender roles, gender expression, and gender identity.We also wanted to know if they considered it professionally appropriate to read fairy tales that addressed gender issues from these perspectives.If they answered negatively, we also asked why.In this context, we would like to clarify that we only asked students about their willingness to read fairy tales containing the hypothetical content mentioned above for children in ECEC settings.The reasons for this methodological decision are as follows.1) Since the survey was conducted among students who will not enter the ECEC settings until they have completed their education, therefore they could not be asked whether they had already read books with such content to children.Instead, we could only assess their willingness to read such content.2) Many of the fairy tales we asked the students about have not been translated into the Slovenian language.Thus, we describe a hypothetical situation.3) Determining whether students will read the content in question is crucial for understanding how the negative social climate in Slovenia is transmitted to future ECEs.
If the topics are not approached with objectivity, criticality, and pluralism i.e. if certain topics are omitted and if exclusionary behavior occurs in ECEC settings, the ECEs are violating professional and formal norms.If the participating students do not reflect this, they are considered to not have achieved the goals they were supposed to achieve during their school years.The general goals of the curriculum module that the students in the program under study are already involved with include ensuring that the quality and performance of their "own work in the work environment in accordance with regulations, laws, and standards" (CPI, 2008, p. 1).Operational objectives state that students should be "familiar with the articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Declaration of Human Rights that are directly relevant to their work in ECEC settings" (p.2).
ECEC in Slovenia takes place within an integrated system that includes two age groups-the first, from one to three years of age, and the second, from three years of age until the child starts school (Republic of Slovenia, 1996b, Art. 15), which generally means up to the child's sixth birthday.Accordingly, the curriculum provides examples of the activities through which ECEs can achieve its objectives within each activity area for the two age groups separately.Consequently, we asked the responding students about their willingness to read the fairy tales separately to each age group.
The data were collected using the survey method, and a questionnaire was used as the study instrument.More specifically, the survey was conducted in writing by the first author of this article using a non-standardized questionnaire design (Sagadin, 1993, p. 120).The data were subsequently processed at the levels of descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results
Most of the respondents (167, 83.1% for the first age group [Group 1] and 193, 96.0%, for the second age group [Group 2]) stated that they would be generally willing to read to children a fairy tale about a female person who wanted to do everyday activities or a profession typically associated with the male gender.
Again, most of the respondents (138, 68.7% for Group 1 and 178, 88.6% for Group 2) were prepared to read to children a fairy tale about a female person who wanted to dress and look in a way that is typically associated with the male gender.
Finally, among the respondents, 87 (43.5% for Group 1) and 147 (73.5% for Group 2) were willing to read to children a fairy tale about a woman who felt like a man and wanted to be treated as such.
Regarding the professional appropriateness of reading fairy tales that address gender issues from the aforementioned perspectives, 66.5% of the students believed that it is appropriate to do so, while the remaining 33.5% were unsure of it or felt it is professionally inappropriate.It is significant that the students' assessment of the professional appropriateness of reading the aforementioned fairy tales, which address gender issues related to gender roles, gender expression, and gender identity, varied based on their current school year at the time of the survey.In Year 2, only 44.9% of students reported that reading such stories was professionally appropriate, compared to 75.3% and 81.0% in Years 3 and 4, respectively.Similar differences also exist among those who are unsure if it is professionally appropriate to read fairy tales, with the largest discrepancy being found between students from Year 2 and those from Years 3 and 4 in the early childhood education program.In Year 2, 47.3% of the respondents provided this answer, while only slightly above 15.0%did so in Years 3 and 4.
The respondents gave the following reasons for why they were not willing to read these fairy tales to children in ECEC setting.
A total of 123 (61.2%) respondents stated that they would not read the fairy tales to children due to the children's inability to understand the subject matter; 90 (44.8%) respondents, due to their anticipated parental disapproval; 51 (25.4%), because they had no information or knowledge about the subject; 58 (28.9%), because they thought gender-related topics would be confusing and thus, unsuitable for children; 31 (15.4%), as there were enough alternative fairy tales available; and 19 (9.5%), because they thought the formal curriculum did not provide for them.

Discussion
Our results showed that the students' willingness to read fairy tales dealing with gender roles, gender expression, and gender identity varied according to the age of the children in ECEC to whom they were being asked to read the fairy tales.Most of them were not willing to read fairy tales with a gender identity theme to Group 1.However, the curriculum which considers the characteristics of children's development (Republic of Slovenia, 1999, p. 8) as the basis for the general principles of ECEC, states that education in ECEC settings should "build on children's abilities and lead children to experience new situations and to obtain new experiences and knowledge by facing them with reasonable challenges […] while fostering their strong emotional and social involvement" (p.12).Therefore, even if children do not initially understand a topic, it is important to follow the principles of the curriculum and not only address children's interests and needs but also facilitate and encourage activities in the zone of proximal development.This means that educators should "support children in solving problems at a developmentally higher level than they would solve them if left to their own devices" (Vygotsky, 1978, as quoted in Marjanovič Umek, 2010, p. 49).According to Meland (2020), it is important for ECEs to: recognise that children are not able to think critically and reveal stereotypes by themselves.Additionally, teachers must help children to understand gender roles, stereotypes and gender expression.When girls and boys attend ECEC, gender stereotypes in fairy tales must be on the agenda.In addition, ECEC staff need to help the children to compare the role of girls and boys in the fairy tales and the real.(p.10) Consequently, ECEs must be prepared to read fairy tales to children that address gender issues from different perspectives and to reflect on the content.Among the examples of activities the curriculum provides in the section on society for children of both age groups include the opportunity to obtain real experience through role-playing that explores gender differences (Republic of Slovenia, 1999, p. 37).Given that the document considers the characteristics of children's development and learning (pp. 11-12), it can be concluded that, from a professional perspective, addressing topics related to gender roles, gender expression, and gender identity is developmentally appropriate and would be understood by children in both age groups with the ECE's support.
A fourth of the students said they would not read the fairy tales because they had no information nor knowledge on the subject.It should be noted that students should acquire knowledge about the issues included in the curricula and be able to plan and implement them, because this is the basis for professional and quality educational work.The fact that the students in our study felt they had no information or knowledge on this topic suggests that gender is not adequately addressed in the secondary school curriculum, especially at the level of the operationalization of the ECEC curriculum.
Another fourth of the respondents said gender-related topics could confuse children and were thus unsuitable for them.Yet, given the age of children in ECEC setting, fairy tales in particular offer an opportunity for discussion to achieve curricular goals.Bettelheim (2014) argued that fairy tales provide children with answers in a way that is consistent with how they think and experience the world.Moreover, the formal framework in Slovenia does not allow ECEs to shun potentially controversial topics, that is, topics that can "confuse" or morally distress children (Kovač Šebart & Kuhar, 2017, pp. 159-160).
Instead, ECEs are obliged to approach such topics in an objective, critical, and pluralist manner, avoiding anything that could lead to indoctrination (Republic of Slovenia, 1996a, Art. 92;ECHR, 1952, Art. 2).Likewise, ECEs cannot overlook the formal framework of norms, principles, and objectives, not even in the name of professional autonomy.While discussion of an issue-in this case, of topics addressing genderfrom various perspectives may cause some children to be morally distressed, respect for human rights and duties, as a common value framework, requires the educator not to impose or demand the adoption of any viewpoint about which different groups of people hold different beliefs.The decision on how to address a topic related to particular convictions must be made by the educator based on professional autonomy.However, the choice of the method cannot bypass the formal framework, which insists on the presentation of differences and respect for different views (Kovač Šebart & Kuhar, 2017, p. 160).In this context, it is also important to reflect on the "hidden curriculum," which the curriculum effectively incorporates.The hidden curriculum is an important aspect of everyday life in ECEC settings and encompasses the part of the educational process that is unwritten, unplanned, and may involve unintentional actions by ECEs (Blaise & Nuttall, 2011, p. 90;Republic of Slovenija, 1999, p. 13).Bahovec and Kodelja (1996) argued that the hidden curriculum includes everything that is taken for granted in ECEC settings and about which children often have no choice, including the selection of activities and curriculum content.If ECEs do not reflect on the selection of activities and content, the hidden curriculum may take over.It also includes suppressed content, usually referring to specific, forbidden, or new topics that are not discussed with children in ECEC setting for various reasons.
One of the reasons given for refusing to include gender issues in the educational process was that there are enough alternative fairy tales available.This response does not reflect what Zipes (2011) emphasized in relation to the fairy tales that address gender: They play an intricate role in acculturation, that is, in forming and reflecting the tastes, manners, and ideologies of members of a particular society.They have a powerful effect on how young and old behave and relate to their daily activities.Though seemingly universal, fairy tales serve a specific function in communicating the values and the various preoccupations of different nations.(p.ix) It is important to be aware that fairy tales "invoke a traditional gender paradigm" (Heerspink, 2012, p. 4) and reinforce traditional stereotypical behavior (Cekiso, 2013;Davies, 2003;Shaheen et. al, 2019).It must be noted that, as Jost and Banaji (1994) pointed out, prejudices and stereotypes support, rationalize, and legitimize the status quo of a society (cf.Kazandjian 2018).They justify the exploitation of marginalized groups and explain the misery and powerlessness of certain groups on the one hand and the success of others on the other hand by making their differences seem legitimate and natural (Nastran-Ule, 1999, p. 332).We accept the view of Meland (2020) that; fairy tales are moralizing and mythical stories that serve to indoctrinate practices (p.2).Nevertheless, this does not mean that fairy tales and gender stereotypes should be avoided in ECEC setting.On the contrary, familiarizing children with stereotypes in such fairy tales, when based on knowledge, makes them critical of untruths and teaches them to accept diversity, including gender diversity.The respondents' answer indicates a lack of knowledge of or compliance with the provisions and objectives of the formal framework.The curriculum states that there should be "permanent corners organised in the playroom, where children can at all times find various toys […] and books (for various fields of activities)" (Republic of Slovenia, 1999, p. 15).Quality fairy tales offer opportunities for discussion and can therefore support ECEs in pursuing curricular goals, which makes a variety of quality fairy tales in ECEC settings more than welcome.During the time of being the students in the secondary school program, they should also reflect on the meanings conveyed to children by fairy tales, and their ECEs should sensitize them to the diversity they will encounter in ECEC setting.Professional work requires them to be sensitive to diversity and consistent in non-exclusionary behavior, which must follow the requirement for nondiscrimination and the logic of human rights (Kovač Šebart & Kuhar, 2017, p. 159).
Other respondents stated that the curriculum does not provide for such stories to be read in ECEC setting. 3This suggests that some students do not reflect on the document concretely or even that they are not aware of the content of the document, which, among other things, stipulates that "while listening to and telling the stories and other literary works […] children learn about moral-ethical dimensions" (Republic of Slovenia, 1999, p. 21).
A particular challenge in the implementation of the ECEC secondary school program is the finding that almost half of the students surveyed would not read the fairy tales because of assumed parental disapproval.This highlights a lack of understanding of rights and duties shared by parents with the state.While the state educates children, as defined by the formal framework, Art.54 of the Constitution (Republic of Slovenia, 1991) states that parents have the right and duty to care for, educate, and raise their children; and Art.41 stipulates that parents have the right to provide their children a religious and moral upbringing in accordance with their own beliefs.In Slovenia, all educational institutions-and thereby, the ECEs they employ-are bound by Art. 2 of Protocol No. 1 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR, 1952), which specifies that in the exercise of any functions that the state assumes in relation to education, the state must respect the right of parents to ensure such education that conforms to parents' religious and philosophical convictions.Decisions by the ECHR and the former European Commission on Human Rights have further developed the interpretation of this article as follows: the state is not obliged to provide education in accordance with parents' wishes in PEIs, but the state must enable parents to find private ECEC settings and schools where their children will be given such education, although the state is not obliged to establish or finance them.It is important to emphasize that PEIs in Slovenia must not impose on children or require them to identify with values toward which individuals adopt different attitudes.The opposite is true: PEIs must express such differences very clearly and allow for their coexistence (Kovač Šebart & Kuhar, 2017, p. 159), while educational content must be imparted in an objective, critical, and pluralist way.Thus, there should be no dilemma (either formal, professional, or ethical) that ECEs should address content related to gender.In so doing, they should follow the principle of objective, critical, and pluralist education.Therefore, respect for human rights as a norm does not require public ECEC settings in Slovenia to yield to parents' demands that educators not address certain topics because they express viewpoints that contradict certain parents' convictions.

Conclusion
We have demonstrated that the legal and curricular framework in Slovenia provides for gender to be addressed in ECEC settings and explicitly prohibits discrimination on the grounds of gender.Therefore, ECEs should address gender in the educational process so as not to exclude or privilege anyone and should do so in line with the principles of objectivity, critical approach, and pluralism.However, our research results show that those who operationalize and implement the formal framework in practice have not sufficiently mastered its requirements.Therefore, in the secondary school curriculum under consideration, more attention should be paid to understanding the requirements outlined in the legal and curricular documents that demand strict respect for human rights and diversity, along with the principles of objectivity, criticality, and pluralism.These principles prohibit indoctrination and restrict the possibility that the freedom and professional autonomy of teaching personnel could devolve into unprofessional arbitrariness.
However, when it comes to curriculum objectives, content, and activities, ECEs, in fact cannot simply omit certain topics.Rather, they have to be able to learn, plan, and implement them because this is the basis for their professional and quality educational work.If they do not reflect on the hidden curriculum, they plan and implement an educational process that is contrary to the requirements of the curriculum and the legal framework of human rights enshrined in the Constitution (Republic of Slovenia, 1991) and relevant legislation (Republic of Slovenia, 1996a, 1996b, 1999).The implementation of a hidden curriculum may also mean that they transmit to children their own or majority attitudes, values, and social norms, which are always particular in nature.In so doing, they educate in contradiction with the guiding principle of human rights and in contradiction with parents' rights (ECHR 1952, Art. 2).