Simon Brownhill is a Senior Teaching Associate at the University of Cambridge, UK.Jo Warin is a Senior Lecturer at Lancaster University, UK.Inga Wernersson is Professor of Educational Research at University West, Sweden.

• Introduction Jo Warin and Inga Wernersson SECTION ONE: POLICY, LEGISLATION AND PERSPECTIVES More men? Swedish arguments over four decades about 'missing men' in ECE and care Inga Wernersson Male role models in education (0-8) – a English perspective Simon Brownhill Children’s interpretive reproduction of gender conscious didactic agendas in a Swedish pre-school Annica Löfdahl and Maria Hjalmarsson The Ballad of the Big Manly Guy: Male and female teachers construct the gendered careworker in US early education contexts Christine Mallozzi and Sally Campbell Galman SECTION TWO: YOUNG CHILDREN: GENDER, LEARNING AND CARE Big and muscular boys: Teaching of normality in pre-school through food and eating Anette Hellmann Gender in pre-school and child-centred ideologies Vina Adriany Teachers´ beliefs, norms and values of gender equality in pre-schools Ingrid Granbom SECTION THREE: GENDERED PROFESSIONAL IDENTITIES AND PRACTICE Pioneers, Professionals, Playmates, Protectors, ‘Poofs’ and ‘Paedos’: Swedish male pre-school teachers’ construction of their identities Jo Warin Being Professional: Norms relating to male pre-school teachers in Japanese kindergartens and nurseries Anette Hellman, Chie Nakazawa and Kiyomi Kuramochi Gendered ideals and sports coaching: reflections on the male as ‘the centre’ of sports in relation to child sports Karin Grahn Conclusions Inga Wernersson and Jo Warin with Simon Brownhill Index

"At last a book that examines the role of men in early years and identifies possible reasons for the gender imbalance. This book is a fantastic read and will be a must have for any setting, parent, practitioner who wants to encourage more men to work in the sector." - Guy Crawford, City College, Southampton