Genus som en del av Samhällskunskapsundervisningen : Lärares och elevers föreställningar om genus i undervisningen

Sammanfattning: Gender is one of several factors that affect our society. According to the National Agency of Education and the values of Lpf 94, the school should communicate and counteract gender stereotypes. However, there is no demand for gender knowledge in the syllabus for Civics in upper secondary school.The purpose of this study is to investigate how two teachers work with gender in Civics education, with main focus on working practices. In addition, I wanted to investigate which conceptions students in upper secondary school have about gender in education. The method used is interviews. The teachers were interviewed individually and the students in gender- segregated groups of three. A total of twelve students participated, equally boys and girls. The results show that the two teachers did not consciously apply a gender perspective into their work practices. However, these practices did include strategies to overcome “messy” or “silent” students. One method, called “Instructive conversations” offers quiet students an opportunity to express themselves in a smaller group with a prepared task. Furthermore, this method also teaches students to respect views of other and to wait for their turn. Regarding gender as content in Civics, the two teachers integrate gender issues in their teaching. Students’ conceptions of gender in education vary depending on the student group. The results from the single- sex classes show that gender roles tend to be reinforced in classes with only girls or boys. The girls strive for good grades in school, while the boys have a more relaxed attitude toward schoolwork. In mixed classes you find more cross- gender patterns and students explain their behavior with increasing age and maturity in upper secondary school. Finally, results show that the absence of gender knowledge in the syllabus might explain why the teachers tend to address gender issues, both as educational method and as content, rather than gender knowledge.