Gender in the Curriculum: Analysis of National Curricular Documents of Czechia, Estonia, Ireland, and Sweden

Currently, equality is one of the most debated topics in education and in the process of national curriculum revisions. Drawing on policy borrowing theory, this study examines how global trends on gender issues are integrated into the national curricular documents of four countries: Czechia, Estonia, Ireland, and Sweden. Using both qualitative and quantitative content analysis, the study explores how gender issues are embedded in the curricular documents and creates categories to help map their presence within the curricular documents, as well as frequency analysis to allow comparison and more detailed presentation of the data. The findings reveal notable differences. Sweden’s curriculum addresses gender issues comprehensively and in considerable detail. Ireland shows moderate integration of gender issues, setting them mostly within the broader context of equality. Estonia represents a concentrated approach, with gender issues primarily integrated within only a few subjects; however, they are listed with a similar degree of specificity as in Ireland. Czechia, in contrast, lags significantly behind the other nations, with minimal attention to gender issues. The study fills a gap in the research that deals with gender issues in the curriculum. The developed categories provide a framework for analysing different curricular documents, offering valuable insights for future revisions.