“...just one aspect among many” : a phenomenographic study of gender-related phenomena in primary school music education

The present thesis aims at exploring and analyzing elementary school music teachers’ work from a perspective of gender equality. Previous research shows differences between boys’ and girls’ choice of musical instruments, school performance and claiming of space in a music classroom. The purpose of the study is to investigate these gender-related phenomena that occur in elementary school music education, how music teachers perceive these phenomena and their methods for integration of gender equality. The theoretical framework of the research is based on gender theories and phenomenography. Qualitative semi-structured phenomenographic interview was applied as the methodological approach for collecting data. In order to fulfill the purpose of the study, two female and two male music teachers from four different elementary schools in southern Sweden were interviewed. The results reveal that the participants perceive the gender-related phenomena differently. The majority of the respondents point out that boys prefer louder music instruments, such as drums and electric guitar, while girls choose piano and singing, which confirms the conventional gender norms. Some of the respondents assert that girls earn better grades in the subject of music because of their faster neurological development. Regarding claiming of space, two of the interviewed music teachers utter that boys tend to dominate in the classroom soundscape, which seems to be a consequence of their masculine and attention-seeking behavior. Additionally, the results of the research expose that the music teachers experience difficulties in applying the national policy documents concerning gender equality. However, the study discovers various methods for integration of gender equality in the interviewed teachers’ work