Men's participation in early childhood care and education

In the region of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, and the region of Yuscarán, Honduras, men and women agree on the importance of men’s participation in early childhood care, especially in educational settings. Thanks to the activities carried out as part of the implementation of the community-based inclusive education model, men are becoming more involved in caring for their children. The intervention included adapting and scaling the community-based early childhood education model in six schools in Guatemala and Honduras through teacher training, improvements to school spaces and the provision of play-based materials, as well as training and dialogic activities on new masculinities. 

In Guatemala, Poqomchí women describe their endless days of daily care work at home and with their children. They also recognize, however, how difficult it is for their partners to collaborate in these tasks because of their demanding workdays. Nevertheless, they say they would like men to participate more, both at home and at school. 

Alan and Rubén, teachers in Alta Verapaz, break the stereotype that early childhood education is almost exclusively the domain of women teachers. Their sensitive and committed work shows how men are equally important when they work responsibly with groups of children at these ages. In spaces where women teachers who have dedicated their lives to children are seeking greater equity in the distribution of everyday care work, girls and boys say they learn from their male teachers and feel great affection for them. In Yuscarán, uncles and grandfathers take on caregiving roles for children, since migration and social inequalities often keep their biological fathers abroad.

The report on masculinities in Guatemala and Honduras highlights various efforts to encourage men’s participation in caring for children. Most of these initiatives, however, have remained at the awareness-raising stage, and there is still little documented evidence on men’s participation in early childhood education. Nevertheless, the project “Gender-inclusive pedagogy for community-level early childhood education in Guatemala and Honduras,” implemented in both countries with support from the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX), has identified promising pathways for promoting men’s more active and shared responsibility in this area.

Activities around new masculinities make a significant contribution to breaking down gender stereotypes. During project implementation, the outreach for meetings and workshops with representatives was adjusted to include grandmothers and grandfathers who are caregivers. Grandmother Tita and Grandfather José in Honduras, and Grandmother Yitzel in Guatemala, actively participated in the events, setting an example for other representatives in the communities. As key community figures, they can transmit messages of change and encourage fathers to participate more actively in the project. They also showed their commitment to the project and are living witnesses to the change in relationships with their grandchildren. Grandmothers and grandfathers shape patterns of child-rearing and community participation. This innovation opens the door to social change in educational communities.

Jordan, a boy from the preschool in the village of Saquijá, says, “Love and affection are the most important things at home and at school.” Using the dialogic learning methodology, dialogic circle games have been created by transforming traditional children’s songs into spaces for reflection for girls and boys. For examen, in “little quetzal, fly, little quetzal… I will care for you, your little head, your little eyes…,” and with the support of images, girls and boys express the value of participating equally in household tasks. Both girls and boys say they take care of their spaces and their toys, help at the table and contribute to everyday tasks.

Hundreds of teachers in Honduras share Juan’s story in dialogic gatherings. It opens up the possibility of questioning how we learned to be men, and shows that participation in care benefits every member of the family. Women teachers in particular comment that the simplicity of the methodology helps encourage the unlearning of gender stereotypes, so that men gradually become involved in this issue.  

The mixed committees in Saquijá, Chijou and Acamal, Guatemala, made up of education authorities, teachers and mothers, use interactive groups to reflect on lessons handed down by their ancestors about love for the land and care for children; the fact that holistic fatherhood is based on shared responsibility and care; and the need to let go of old patterns in order to become a caring community. Their conclusions seek to establish work commitments and strategies to continue encouraging men’s context-sensitive participation in early childhood education. 

Specialists in masculinities have engaged in dialogue with communities in both countries, and their messages have been well received. A positive approach has been observed to be more effective in involving men, especially in regions where they face multiple difficulties linked to poverty. Emphasis has therefore been placed on recognizing men’s right to participate in care work, not only as a way to value their contribution, but also to promote caring communities that guarantee the well-being of young children.

The project intervention in the selected educational communities opened a space not only to enrich classroom teaching practices, but also to move toward more equal and inclusive societies.  Creating a horizontal space for discussion of the issue in schools, through mixed and/or steering committees, contributed significantly to improving relationships between schools and families by encouraging more active family involvement.  The creation of a WhatsApp group for constant communication was a simple innovation that markedly improved interaction. It is hoped that this space and these tools will continue to be replicated in future school years. More broadly, the project demonstrated the relevance of linking inclusive pedagogy, a gender approach, community-based pedagogy, dialogic learning and a pedagogy of care as complementary approaches to strengthening early childhood education. The results achieved show that the investment made was relevant and timely. Nevertheless, they also show that community transformation processes require longer time horizons to consolidate changes, guarantee their sustainability and carry out follow-up that makes it possible to assess their impact and relevance over time.

Thanks to the involvement of education authorities in the municipality of Danlí, Honduras, the mayor committed to scaling the model to nine additional schools, thereby covering the entire district. 

The project “Gender-inclusive pedagogy for community-level early childhood education in Guatemala and Honduras” was supported by the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX).