A call for nuancing the debate on gender, education and mathematics in Norway

International audienceThis paper aims to scratch beneath the surface of a domestic concern with boys’ ‘underperformance’ in school in Norway. Focusing on mathematics, I argue that there is more to the ongoing debate on gender and education than meets the eye. Exploring the unexpected emergence of a gendered context in a 10th grade mathematics class, I show the need for revisiting the gender and mathematics debate. Characterising the current debate in Norway as a binary concern with boys struggling in the educational system versus successful girls, I argue that the current moral panic is detrimental for girls in mathematics, where challenges remain for those choosing to study at a level which enables access to further studies in the STEM field. The Norwegian debate in this field needs to be more complex and nuanced than first impressions and assumptions about gender equality suggest