Abstract
The article presents a link between gender and teaching in Early Childhood Education, through reflections on the masculinities and femininities present in these institutions, which are the result of a meticulous process that, throughout life, leaves marks on the bodies of girls and boys, female teachers and male teachers. Considering the playful dimension as the main requirement of this teaching profession, marked by female social patterns of behavior, a case study was made, in a university nursery/preschool, through the observation of the educational journey of a group of children and teacher; collective moments with the other children and professionals; semi-structured interviews with the teacher and with the only male teacher, revealing bodily availabilities and different ways as the marks of socialization distance and/or approach the playful dimension of both and questioning the passivity and the submission that may characterize the femininities in nurseries and pre-schools.
Keywords
Early Childhood Education; gender; play dimension; teaching profession