Dystopian or utopian futures? Upper secondary school students’ perspectives on gender, equality, and the future through history education

Highlights: - Students oscillate between utopia and dystopia when imagining the future concerning equality. - Meaning-making is shaped by history education, social media and contemporary political events. - Students construct equality as both threatened and threatening. - Students position themselves as more open and progressive than older generations. - Students express limited personal agency, attributing real power to “others.” Purpose: This article investigates how Swedish upper secondary school students envision future societies, with a particular focus on gender, sexuality, and equality, through the lens of history education. Design/methodology/approach: The study draws on qualitative interviews with students in upper secondary school. A poststructuralist theoretical framework, inspired by Butler and Foucault, guides the analysis of how discourses are negotiated and reproduced in classroom practices. Findings: The analysis reveals tensions and ambivalence regarding the future. The narratives reflect the complex interplay between historical and present societal norms, as well as students’ future imaginaries. This article contributes to understanding how history education shapes young people’s views of the future. Research implications: The study highlights a critical challenge: many students feel powerless in shaping the future, attributing agency to external forces. This accentuates the need for educational approaches that empower youth as agents of change.