- 期刊
The Multifaceted Roles of Grassroots Women Through Community-Based Kindergartens: The Case of Persatuan Guru-Guru Tadika (PGT) Malaysia
摘要
Grassroots women as change agents played multifaceted roles in several marginalised sectors beginning from rubber plantations in Peninsular Malaysia to their primary role as kindergarten teachers. This paper examines the social ecology of the plantation community and how Persatuan Guru-Guru Tadika (PGT) (Association of Kindergarten Teachers) bridged the gap in kindergarten access and reclaimed women's traditional roles. Data for this article drawn from a qualitative study is based on interviews of eight participants between twenty-seven and sixty-eight years old. These were four senior PGT teachers, one from Kulim (Kedah), Bahau (Negeri Sembilan), Kapar (Selangor) and Chaah (Johore), two PGT field workers, a youth from Bahau who was enrolled as a child in a PGT kindergarten and a parent from Chaah (Johor). These interviews which were in Tamil, were translated and transcribed. Evidence was also gathered by viewing photographs of PGT activities. Interviews were on-site and online, staggered between April 2021 and September 2022. This study found that PGT grassroots women played empowering roles, reclaiming the role of mother as educator, nurturing kindergarten- aged children in the way a mother does.