Maschilità e Cura Educativa. Contronarrazioni per un (altro) mondo possibile

The book presents the results of a research exploring male presence/absence in Early Childhood Education (ECE), through the biographies of ten men (educators and teachers) who, overcoming the ‘gender cages’, take care of children aged 0-6. The life trajectories of these men have been analysed, in order to investigate the motivations of this professional choice traditionally considered to be ‘female’. Specific attention is also paid to caring as a paradigm to prevent gender-based violence and violence tout court. The book presents statistical data about presences in ECE in the European context, with a specific focus on Italy. Life stories are collected through biographical interviews and are reported in specific boxes and analysed through key-themes of international literature (e.g. hybridization of masculinity, body and emotions, the shadow of paedophilia). We also carried out two focus groups with fathers and mothers to collect other points of view on topical issues of the debate. Where common sense - especially in Italy - takes for granted the exclusive presence of women as caregivers, it seems interesting to us to ‘look for’ those (few) males and to collect counter-narratives among them and families, giving account and legitimacy to male responsibility in early child caring. Highlighting both sexes can and should share the task of caring contributes to a socio-cultural vision in which diversity and differences are not thought and socialized in a hierarchical but in a gylanic way.