Abstract

Nordic collaboration in issues of gender equality has a history spanning four decades. In recent years, the issue of gender equality in schools and preschools has received extensive attention. The reasons for this attention are one, that the development of Nordic societies has caused pressure to update gender equality laws to bring about equality and equity in schools; and two, that boys have begun to fall behind girls’ achievements academically in many western countries, drawing attention again to gender issues. Changes in legislation create pressure for educational professionals to develop their practices. However, gender-equality promotion practices vary considerably between Nordic countries and between regions of single countries.

In this project, funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers, participants gathered and compared data on current ‘promising practices’ relating to gender equality promotion at schools and kindergartens in each Nordic country. This project identified the following as the most promising practices for furthering gender equality in education: one; gender mainstreaming in education, both in teaching and learning; two, gender equality planning at schools (GEP); three, recruiting gender equality educators to municipalities; four, creating a national or a Nordic gender-equality certificate for educational institutions to acquire; five, promoting gender balance and diversity among educational staff; and six, gender equality work with the parents of students. Each practice is itself an influential activity; together, these six practices present a systematic approach to the development of the organisation of education, and a comprehensive strategy for promoting gender equality in education.

This project report aims to contribute discussion on the issues, ‘Can one speak of a ‘Nordic equality model’ in education?’ and, ‘How can Nordic countries benefit from a joint gender equality promotion?’ and ‘Can Nordic gender equality promotion be beneficial for non-European countries?’