Jämställdhet, jämlikhet, olikhet : kunskap om skolans jämställdhetsarbete

This essay is about gender equality in a Swedish upper secondary school. The aim is twofold: to obtain knowledge about feminism, gender equality, boys´ and girls´ situations in schools and gender equality work there; and to find out if government management documents for schools work effectively when it comes to promoting gender equality in schools. There are four research questions: How do teachers interpret what´s said in management documents for schools? What strategies do teachers use to promote gender equality? What opportunities and obstacles do teachers see for promoting gender equality at the specific school? And, finally, do the management documents for the school work effectively when it comes to promoting gender equality? The study has a socialist feminist perspective, which sees gender differences as a result of a mix of biological, historical and social factors. Important theoretical standpoints include gender socialization as an explanation for how girls and boys become women and men. The results of the study points out that teachers interpret management documents differently, and that they find the documents hard to understand. They use a few different strategies when it comes to promoting gender equality, although they do not sufficiently realize the importance of their own conceptions of girls and boys in reproducing existing gender patterns. One of the obstacles for promoting gender equality in the school, although not mentioned by the teachers, seems to be the school management, who seem to do nothing to promote gender equality and fail to set up goals for gender equality in local school management documents. The main obstacle, however, is found to be the surrounding society and it´s definition of women and men. The main opportunity in the school is found to be the teachers, given that they are provided with knowledge, support from management and more specific formulations in management documents on how to work practically with gender equality. Suggestions for future research include comparative studies, studies on teachers views on gender equality as a goal already reached in Sweden, and studies on how to use the concept of intersectionality in the aim of reaching a higher level of equality in schools