Guidance on the Social Studies Buffet : A Qualitative Study of Teachers’ Interpretations of Norm Criticism and Future Perspectives in Social Studies Education

This study explores how upper secondary school social studies teachers in Sweden perceive and enact their responsibility to address gender norms in their teaching, particularly in relation to students’ ideas about the future, education and working life. Despite clear policy directives regarding gender equality and norm-critical pedagogy in the Swedish curriculum, previous research suggests that such perspectives are not always fully integrated into classroom practice. Using a qualitative research design, seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers from three different schools. The data was analyzed thematically through an abductive approach, informed by theoretical concepts such as Bernstein’s classification and framing, Czarniawska’s translation theory and Biesta and Osberg’s ideas on complexity reduction in education. The findings indicate that while many teachers express a willingness to challenge gender norms, their ability to do so is shaped by structural constraints, subject traditions and varying interpretations of their professional mandate. Norm-critical content often competes with more traditionally legitimized knowledge and may be sidelined when not explicitly tied to grading criteria. Teachers adopt different strategies to navigate this tension, ranging from cautious adaptation to creating powerful moments of disruption. The study highlights the importance of structural support and professional autonomy in realizing the school’s gender equality mission and points to a need for further research into how policy can be more effectively translated into classroom practice.