“I can’t see that we treat students differently according to gender” a qualitative study about five SO teachers thoughts about their mission regarding gender equality, gender and gender in education and in their response to pupils

Självständigt arbete på grundnivå (yrkesexamen) 10 poäng / 15 hp This paper attempts to display how five teachers of social studies use and relate to the policy documents and their instructions on gender. To penetrate the subject, five teachers were intreviewed. Each interview focused on how the curriculum attempts to guide teachers regarding gender, sex differences and equality of opportunity. The collected information was processed, analyzed and discussed using gender studies and discourse theory. The results show that the interpretation and usage of the curriculum is very subjective and varies greatly between all the interviewed teachers. Their personal interpretation proves to be crucial when it comes to making reality of the stated goals in the curriculum, concerning actively working towards equality of opportunity between sexes. For example, two teachers strongly believe they do not treat their students differently based on sex, while three others find it a delicate problem that they do treat female and male students differently. The ideas on how to implement gender theory into their teaching also vary greatly. This marked difference in interpretations of the curriculum can be explained mainly in two ways. Firstly, the policy documents and curriculum are very indistinct, providing only guidelines and very few, or no, direct instructions on how to use gender theory when teaching. Secondly, the personal background of each teacher, including upbringing, education and personal interest, shows vast importance on how to interpret the guidelines of the curriculum. The paper also shows a conflict between the attempted individual treatment of each student based on the specific needs of that individual student, and the thought of equal treatment and rights, regardless of sex. A discussion is held concerning how male and female teachers find themselves in different roles, and how the call for a greater number of male teachers include a call for specific typically “male” characteristics. Finally, the paper points out that the usage of gender studies in school implies that the heterosexual norm is the standard, and the issue of equal rights regardless of sexual preference is not even addressed. This paper attempts to display how five teachers of social studies use and relate to the policy documents and their instructions on gender. To penetrate the subject, five teachers were intreviewed. Each interview focused on how the curriculum attempts to guide teachers reg