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Educational Outreach Work in Nordic Countries: Challenges, Tensions, and Contradictions for Queering Schools and Teaching About Sexual and Gender Diversity

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Queer Social Movements and Outreach Work in Schools

Part of the book series: Queer Studies and Education ((QSTED))

Abstract

The Nordic Countries have often been depicted as progressive societies regarding the issues of gender equality and sexual diversity. Queer issues and non-heterosexuality, however, are either hidden in many national curricula, or not enacted at all. Queer students and teachers are not very visible in schools and educational institutions. Thus in order to break the silence around non-heterosexuality and gender diversity and provide education about these issues, LGBTIQ organizations in the Nordic countries have been active in their outreach work within schools and educational institutions. Thus, this chapter will focus on queer outreach work in three Nordic countries, Iceland, Finland, and Denmark. It has two objectives: Firstly, to give an account of queer outreach educational work within educational institutions. Secondly, to discuss the potentials and challenges of outreach work to queer schools and to carve out a space for sexual and gender minorities within education.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Jón Ingvar Kjaran

  2. Gender Studies, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Jukka Lehtonen

Authors
  1. Jón Ingvar Kjaran
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  2. Jukka Lehtonen
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Correspondence to Jón Ingvar Kjaran .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Stellenbosch University, Matieland, Western Cape, South Africa

    Dennis A. Francis

  2. University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Jón Ingvar Kjaran

  3. Gender Studies, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Jukka Lehtonen

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Kjaran, J.I., Lehtonen, J. (2020). Educational Outreach Work in Nordic Countries: Challenges, Tensions, and Contradictions for Queering Schools and Teaching About Sexual and Gender Diversity. In: Francis, D., Kjaran, J., Lehtonen, J. (eds) Queer Social Movements and Outreach Work in Schools. Queer Studies and Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41610-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41610-2_2

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-41609-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-41610-2

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