Research topic/aim: The purpose of this presentation is to describe ways of including gender equality and gender sensitivity in programmes for teachers in preschools and leisure-time centres. The presentation takes its point of departure in research literature on gender in higher education and teachers’ education.

Theoretical and methodology framework: Gender sensitivity, intersectionality, diversity, norm-critical thinking and, recently, norm-creativity are only a few of the eye-catching terms in gender and education discussions. Some of them are used more descriptively while others stand for explicit theoretical paradigms. I will, in a first step investigate, which are the predominant perspectives and what do they contribute to our knowledge on gender in (preschool) teachers’ education.

(Expected) conclusions/findings: Hopefully, the established knowledge can be applied to specific education contexts: Preschool teachers’ education and teacher in leisure-time centre programmes. These programmes are both similar and different to each other. The number of men studying to become preschool teachers has been low over the years, while programmes for teachers working in leisuretime centres attract almost equally many men and women. For our own university we know that these programmes include knowledge on gender and education into their curriculum and the teaching. However, involved teachers also voice a wish to work more strategically with gender in their programmes. The systematic literature study is expected to inspire our work with further gender inclusion into teachers’ and preschool teachers’ programmes.

Relevance to Nordic educational research: Gender equality is nothing that comes for free and working with gender equality is a highly relevant topic for teachers’ education in Nordic countries. However, international research in the field is still in the beginning. Teacher educators in Finland have over the last decade worked strategically with gender sensitive education in teacher training programmes and also in Sweden and other Nordic countries there are a number of actors in the field. The discussion with researchers from different Nordic countries and actors from various teachers’ education programmes can stimulate our work on gender inclusion in teachers’ education and training.