Doctoral defense in education science: Bergljót Þrastardóttir
Aðalbygging
Bergljót Þrastardóttir defends her PhD thesis in Educational Sciences from the Faculty of education and diversity, University of Iceland:
Making Sense of Gender in Compulsory School Practices in Iceland
The oral defence takes place Wednesday, October 18, at 9:30 am in the Aula in the main building of the University of Iceland, as well as in live stream.
Opponents are Dr Carolyn Jackson and Dr Claudia Mitchell
Main supervisor was Dr Ingólfur Ásgeir Jóhannesson Professor at the School of Education, University of Iceland, and co-supervisor Dr Steinunn Helga Lárusdóttir Professor emeritus at the School of Education, University of Iceland.
Expert in the Doctoral Committee was Dr Sirpa Lappalainen Professor at the University of Eastern Finland and Dr Jón Ingvar Kjaran Professor at the School of Education, University of Iceland.
Dr Berglind Rós Magnúsdóttir head of the faculty of education and diversity will conduct the ceremony.
All welcome.
About the project:
The Act on Equal Status and Equal Rights Irrespective of Gender no. 150/2020 and the current national curriculum for compulsory school education in Iceland emphasise the promotion of gender equality and queer education. However, there are few signs of the enactment of these obligations at the compulsory school level, and research is lacking on the interplay of gender and education. This study contributes to and generates new knowledge on how the school and the culture define and (re)produce gender differences, particularly with regards to the available gender positions in schools. The study presented is on how gender is manifested in school culture and practices in the upper grades of the compulsory school level (age level 13–16) in one school.
The study consists of one data set produced through ethnographic methods. Participant observations were conducted for three months, which gave the researcher an opportunity to interact closely in the field, producing deeper knowledge than before on how actors make sense of gender and how it is performed at the compulsory school level in Iceland. Eighty-four students, two school leaders and seven teachers at the upper level of the school participated in formal group and individual interviews. Rich observational data and additional material was collected to acquire insights into the gendered practices and discourses in the school.
Main findings indicate that the school environment favoured dividing practices between boys and girls in both overt and subtle ways, with a relative lack of resistance to the persistent gender division. This was reflected in (cis)heteronormative understanding of gender and gender-based arrangement of different school spaces that reproduce binary gender relations. Claiming discursive space to resist the normative gender script available to students was an individual effort which came with the risk of rejection. The findings further suggest that schools must do better and comply with their duties as to promote gender equality education instead of limiting available gender positions and, thus, students’ freedom to express fluid gender and sexual identities. Schools must also dismantle the myth of Iceland as a gender equal paradise since gender inequalities are still very prominent in schools and will go unnoticed if not addressed.
About the doctoral candidate
Bergljót Þrastardóttir was born in Akureyri on July 1st 1969. She finished her studies in diploma for teacher certificate from the University of Akureyri in 2003 and a BA degree in anthropology from the University of Iceland in 2004. In 2012, she finished a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Iceland. Bergljót worked as a compulsory schoolteacher in Lundarskóli for years and as a special adviser in the Directorate of Equality from 2008 to 2020. While working for the Directorate of Equality and on her PhD study, she taught part-time at the University of Akureyri and the University of Iceland. Since 2020, she has worked as an assistant professor in the faculty of education at the University of Akureyri. Her parents are Þröstur Guðjónsson and Gunnhildur Baldvinsdóttir. Jón Ívar Rafnsson is her husband, and their children are Arnaldur Skorri and Hildur Lilja.
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