Gender and social class in Nordic early childhood educational ethnography – a meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

This article provides a meta-analysis of what characterises existing ethnographic research on gender and class in the context of Nordic early childhood education. The encompasses research on education and gender or social class in the Nordic countries published in Nordic and non-Nordic scientific journals as well PhD theses published in the Nordic countries. The analysis suggests that even though Nordic countries have a reputation for being ‘role model countries’ in terms of equality and social justice, gender and especially social class have rarely been explicitly the focus of ethnographic research in the context of early childhood educational research. In terms of methodology, many of these studies make use of post-qualitative approaches to research, whereas fieldwork practices have been guided by the spirit of interactionism.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethnography
• gender
• social class
• Nordic countries
• early childhood education
• pre-primary schooling

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The research is supported by NordForsk, Nordic Centre of Excellence: Justice through Education in the Nordic Countries [project number 57741].