Norm-critique as revitalizer of gender equality? Local policy actors' norm-critical understandings of Swedish preschool's gender-equality mission.

The study investigates how kindergarten coordinators in Sweden understand kindergarten’s gender equality mandate through a norm-critical perspective. The research question is: What understandings are attributed to the concept of norm criticism in relation to kindergarten’s gender equality mandate?

The results show that kindergarten coordinators see the concept of norm criticism as a revitaliser of the gender equality mandate in Swedish kindergartens. A primary conclusion of the study is that norm criticism strengthens the gender equality mandate by helping local policy actors view equality from a broader perspective and in connection with other intersecting causes of inequality. Another, and somewhat contradictory, conclusion is that norm criticism risks undermining the gender equality mandate by replacing it.

The data material is a reanalysis of three focus group discussions conducted in 2018, with a total of 13 kindergarten coordinators from three Swedish municipalities. The discussions were semi-structured and lasted between 40 and 60 minutes. The transcripts were analysed using qualitative thematic analysis, where key topics such as reflection, management and change in gender norms were identified and encoded to understand participants’ perspectives on norm criticism and gender equality.

Axelsson, T. K. (2023). Norm-critique as revitalizer of gender equality? Local policy actors' norm-critical understandings of Swedish preschool's gender-equality mission. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, 9(2), 101–112.