Att förändra den sociala ordningen

• This article starts with a question made by a student: Are there any preschools in Scania that are noted for having a marked policy of gender equality? The answer to the question is a resounding “Yes there are”, within the context that the common open-door preschool policy represents one of the most extensive gender equality projects in Sweden. The meaning of motherhood and fatherhood has slowly been changed by the parents’ dual participation in employment, as well as in household and parental responsibilities. The relationships between the state and the family, the parent and the child, and the mother and father have been deeply influenced by the development and expansion of readily available preschool services. However, although gender patterns have changed, gender regimes, such as gender segregation and hierarchisation, characterise even the new social arenas. The question made by the student was directed at the special kind of pedagogical equality projects in preschools of today. These projects are discussed critically in the article, wherein the Swedish concept of gender equality (“jämställdhet”) is problematised as a marker for both nationality and class. It is of special concern today to discuss the effect of preschools on childhood and gender structure. In a time of restructuring and reorganisation of the welfare state and of European harmonisation, it is of special importance to focus on preschool and equality from a historical and international comparative perspective. The general, highly qualitative and accessible preschool represents more than just childcare - it is a pedagogical and gender political project with an embedded possibility to change social order.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap -- Pedagogik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences -- Pedagogy (hsv//eng)

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