2023 Response 1 The topic I chose for my final project was gender diversity As soon

  

Response 1

The topic I chose for my final project was gender diversity. As soon as expecting parents find out the gender of their unborn child and sometime even before that, there are certain gender expectations they have for their child. As a child gets older even the toys they play with are separated based on gender. Gender identity development relates to my topic because it focuses on the kind of person a child grows to be based on the kinds of things they are into, which can be a direct affect to their gender identity. I feel as though growing up gender plays a big role in the kinds of things a child wants to do as well as what their parents will allow them to explore. For example, it is more acceptable for little girls to have play kitchen sets and want to learn how to cook and clean then it is for boys. On the other hand little boys are encouraged to play with army men, tool sets, and trucks. Using this example even toys are geared toward specific genders. 

One of the sources I would like to include in my project is one from Healthy Children, which is a website/blog ran by pediatricians that has a section that talks about gender identity development in children. This page does a really good job at explaining gender identity and what to expect from your child while they are going through this stage of life. It also gives parents some ideas of how they can help guide their child through this time. Another reason I chose this source was because not only does it explain what gender identity is and what happens during this time, it also explains some ways that children will express their gender identity. I think that this source provides good, broad, information on this topic. 

Resources 

American Academy of Pediatrics (2018) Gender Identity Development in Children retrieved from https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/gradeschool/Pages/Gender-Identity-and-Gender-Confusion-In-Children.aspx

Response 2

Gender identity development relates to children within the special education population that have behavioral issues because it would make sense to me that males and females present differently with regard to behaviors either in or outside of the special education arena. While I notice that males seem to externalize more throughout childhood, it seems that females are more likely to internalize. I have always felt this way and it has guided a lot of my thought processes with regard to treatment plans. However, this is a biased perspective which may potentially have a negative impact on children, because if I look at them through a fixed lens of male-externalizes and female-internalizes then it will limit my own ability to accurately identify behaviors and their roots. 

Some supporting resources that I may use include peer-reviewed journal articles, media books and resource books (hard copies). I intend to use peer-reviewed articles to support the majority of my final assignment. I will also rely on the books and resources that have been given to us this semester.

I think that the specific resources I intend on using provide both a broad and specific perspectives.  I’m going to rely on the use of journal articles for the majority of my work because it allows me to focus on a specific topic and go in depth with that topic. If I want to get a bit more broad information, then I may resort to using media books or other books – or potentially could access information on blogs related to my topic. 

Please list references