Gender equality in the subject of English in Swedish schools : A synchronic investigation of gender differences based on classroom observations

Sammanfattning: The National Agency for Education (Skolverket) and The Swedish National Curriculum stated that equality between female and male students is important. The present study investigates students in the subject English in Swedish upper secondary school and municipal school for adult education from the perspective of gender dominance in English conversation with a teacher present, with the focus on turn-taking. Two separate observations were made in three classes in adult education and two classes in upper secondary school. The research questions of this investigation are; which gender dominates the on-going conversation in English with a teacher present, how the turns were allocated, given or taken, and if the gender patterns differ between a municipal school for adults and an upper secondary school. The potential impact of the teacher's sex on the patterns of domination is also taken into consideration. Female dominance as well as male dominance is revealed in the result of the investigated classes' gender patterns. The results also reveal that the teacher's sex could have an impact on the patterns of domination.