Browsing by Author "Carlson, Nelli"

Gender and gender equality have drawn attention in recent years. Studies have showed that gender is still seen in school policies. Craft is one of the most gender-based subjects. Technical work has been connected to masculinity and textile work to femininity and students have mostly selected the subject according to these norms. In 2016 was launched a new curriculum which combines these two crafts into one multi-material craft. Gender sensitive pedagogy considers the expectations for sexes. Unlike gender neutral pedagogy it doesn't deny the difference between sexes, but instead has a critical view towards gender role norms. The purpose of this study was to find out craft teachers' knowledge of gender and equality, their experiences of gender-based craft and their thoughts about the effects of gender in teaching. Through these things the appearance of gender sensitive teaching in their thinking was analyzed. Prior studies have showed that gender bias acts by teachers are often unconscious. The study data was collected as theme interviews from craft teachers in Southern Finland. Four of them were female (textile work) and one of them was a male (technical work). The recorded and transcribed interviews were coded into classes appeared in data and theory by using the Atlas.ti-analyzing program. The data was analyzed by using theory guided content analysis. The study is a case study that examines the teachers' attitudes and perceptions. The results can't be generalized to other teachers. The gender and equality knowledge was quite similar between the teachers. Many of them emphasized the importance of experiential gender and gender diversity had been shown in their schools. They all understood the meaning of gender equality. All the teachers thought that the gender equality was coming true in their schools. The teachers had experiences of gender-based craft in their own school years and also in their current workplaces. They think that the gender bias is still alive in attitudes although it has decreased over the years. Boys' handicraft choice is more controlled than girls. The teacher's think that attitudes in students' homes play important role in reducing gender bias. Some of the teachers had tried to reduce the gender bias in craft. The teachers had noticed some gender differences between students. They are still trying to face their students as individuals. Both gender neutral and gender sensitive thinking were discovered in the teachers' interviews. These findings support the need for increasing gender and equality knowledge in teacher education.