Changing the gender balance in preschools: an analysis of active work carried out by seven Swedish municipalities

The study investigates the strategies used by seven Swedish municipalities to get more men to work in kindergartens. The aim is to identify the different ways municipalities work in recruitment processes to reduce the gender imbalance among kindergarten staff. The researchers investigate the initiatives the municipalities take in the recruitment process and ask the following research questions: 1) How do the municipalities work in order to recruit more male employees in kindergartens? 2) How can this work be described? 3) How can the municipal initiative be understood in this work?

The researchers conclude that the municipalities use three different strategies to get more men to work in kindergartens: 1) Short-term initiatives (for example, different types of information, such as gender-neutral brochures or lectures for employees), 2) One-dimensional processes (processes that focus most on what kindergartens themselves can do to recruit more men) and 3) Multi-dimensional processes (processes that involve multiple municipal agencies and raise the topic at a general municipal level). These multi-dimensional processes could be both internal; that they only involved the municipality itself, or external; that they also involved other parties outside the municipality. It was common for the recruitment process to consist of a mixture of the three strategies, most often 1) and 2). The researchers believe that structural changes are needed to get more men to work in kindergartens, and that such changes take time. They emphasise that this long-term work requires a clear municipal and national strategy, and add that the lack of a national strategy is problematic since municipalities cannot change these structures on their own.

The sample consists of seven Swedish municipalities, all of which participated in a network that worked to get more men into kindergarten. The study was interactive, meaning that both the sample participants and the researchers worked together to analyse data and steer the direction of the investigation. The researchers followed the participants during network meetings and in the recruitment work in the individual municipalities. They also interviewed municipal leaders about their understanding and reflections regarding the recruitment process. A total of 24 people were interviewed.

Heikkilä, M. (2019). “Changing the gender balance in preschools: an analysis of active work carried out by seven Swedish municipalities”. Education Inquiry, 10(2):134-150.