Shock Absorbers and Sub-Teachers: Cracks in the Wall or Stable Gender Patterns in the Preschool Class?

Abstract

Sub-teachers are well-known phenomenon in gender research and described in several studies. In this article I argue that what is defined as sub-teachers in previous research include different functions and meanings in relation to gender constructions. The empirical data presented in the article is based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out in a preschool class. In the article I will highlight what is defined as ‘sub-teachers’ and ‘shock absorbers’ in the study. A sub-teacher is defined as a child who helps the teacher with traditional teacher tasks in the preschool class. Both girls and boys are doing this kind of duty, which differs from previous research, where this responsibility has been found almost exclusively reserved to girls. One way of creating silence in the preschool class is to place a girl or an adult next to noisy boys, which is defined as shock absorbers in the study. In the article I discuss whether these kinds of duties are expressions of possible ‘cracks in the wall’ or stable gender patterns in the preschool class.