The good kindergarten is a gender equal kindergarten

 

 

State Secretary Lisbeth Rugvedt’s talk to the national conference for the implementation of the Plan of Action for Gender Equality in Kindergartens 2004-2007, hosted by the Ministry for Education and Research and the governor of Vestfold, 27.11.2006, Tønsberg.

 

Dear assembly, 

It’s a pleasure to see so many men in the hall! At most conferences on kindergartens women dominate more so than today. It is just as important for you men to be here as it is for women to be at conferences for the heads of commerce and industry. 

I will first take the opportunity to thank you all for the good effort this year. I understand it to be the case that work is now really on track. A thank you to you all from the kindergartens, municipalities, university colleges and county governors. The work you are doing is very important. 

The theme for this conference is “The good kindergarten is a gender equal kindergarten”. Gender equality is thus a part of the work being done to improve the quality of service in kindergartens – for the children’s best. In this work there is no such thing as women’s issues or men’s issues – everyone has to pull together, both women and men. If we are to build expertise in all areas then it is better to be able to recruit from the whole population and not just one sex.

Quality

This government has made it a priority to provide sufficient kindergarten places of high quality to satisfy demand in the community. Some people are worried that this will not be achieved. What I see is an exciting challenge. In the near future we will have:

· Many new innovative kindergartens.

· A group of children from diverse backgrounds that will present us with a challenge – we have social, cultural and ethnic diversity already, but this diversity will come to represent our everyday experience in increasingly more of Norway.

· Many new staff will be recruited, and this is a golden opportunity to recruit more men.

· We will see greater diversity in styles of kindergarten, and kindergartens will need to focus on the quality of their service.

· We have put in place an updated set of regulations – new kindergarten legislation and a new framework for kindergartens.

· We are putting in place routines for staff training.

· Responsibility for kindergartens has been moved from the Ministry of Children and Equality to the Ministry of Education and Research, and this change will have noticeable consequences. The place of the kindergarten in a child’s education and future will be something we shall focus on in the coming years.

· The status of kindergarten employees will be raised, and the sector will undergo further professional development.

In short, adaptability and improvements in the quality of the service provided are going to be the focus over the next few years. Parents will demand this, and this government has promised to deliver. But it is you, here in this hall, who hold the keys. 

Gender equality starts in the kindergarten

Gender equality is an important part of this process of change. It is important for the children, for diversity in kindergartens, for schools, and for sharing work between partners in the family and in society. Gender equality policy has priority in this government. The Ministry of Education and Research is responsible for those areas where change really can give results. It is at kindergarten age that the patterns of gender role models are laid down. It is at school we see the consequences of this. The consequences pass into the workplace, as a gender segregated labour market with lower wages in women-dominated professions than in those dominated by men – and it is a big problem. 

It is therefore best to start in the kindergarten. The goal is for all children to have equal opportunities in life, regardless of their gender. Every boy and every girl should have the opportunity to develop all of their talents without being hindered by traditional gender roles. 

Therefore, I am glad that we have a strategy for gender equality in kindergartens that is valid for the period 2004-2007. Much of the responsibility for implementing this lies with you people here in this hall, and we at the Ministry are satisfied with what you achieve with relatively few resources. 

I would also like to praise the work that, since the 1990s, has been done to recruit more men to kindergartens. Norway was in the forefront with this work. And we are still in the forefront. Few countries are working both to recruit men into kindergartens and to make the educational activities of kindergartens gender equal. Many countries are working on recruiting more men, but few countries outside of the Nordic region are working on the educational content. 

It is easier to split an atom than to end a norm. Gender equality has to do with norms and values that are well entrenched. Time and patience are necessary to bring about changes.

 

Continuing with the action plan

Therefore, without delay, I can confirm that the Ministry of Education and Research will continue the work on gender equality in kindergartens after 2007. We will not achieve the target of 20 % men in kindergartens in 2007. Integrating gender equality in the running of kindergartens is a continuing task and a step in the implementation of the framework plan. What form the work will take we have not yet decided. We would very much like to see the gender equality work in kindergartens in connection with the gender equality work in schools for which we are also working on making a strategy for future efforts and for which there is much to be done – not least in respect to how we are to counteract the tendency that boys are losing out academically at school and also how we continue to see traditional gendered patterns of subject choice at every junction throughout our education system.

In the budget for the next year we have proposed a “Strategy for gender equality in education 2007-2011”. It will have as its goal the ensuring of a gender equal educational environment, promoting less traditional subject and career choices among boys and girls, and ensuring a better gender balance among employees. We expect to achieve more breadth, improved efficacy and better financing if kindergartens are included in this work. In the meantime, in 2007, the action plan will continue in its current form, with at least the resources that are currently allocated to it.

 

Legislation and the framework plan

In the course of barely a year since we won the general election, this government has sharpened the gender equality resolution in the kindergarten legislation and in the framework plan for kindergartens. After the new legislation was adopted kindergartens will be built upon gender equality values (§ 2). This is followed up in the new framework plan. Let me quote this important resolution in its entirety, since it specifies what it is that we are trying to achieve: 

“Gender equality shall be reflected in the educational content of the work of kindergartens. Kindergartens shall prepare children for, and for creating, an egalitarian society. Gender equality shall be one of the core values that kindergartens build their activity upon. Boys and girls shall have equal opportunities to be seen and heard and shall be encouraged to participate together in all activities in the kindergarten. Staff must reflect upon their own attitudes towards, and society’s expectations of, boys and girls.” (pp. 10). 

The text uses the terms “shall” and “must” – not “can” and “should”! Gender equality work is not something kindergartens can choose to forget. 

I want to emphasize this: The principle of gender equality involves that kindergartens shall work towards a better balance of the sexes among their staff. More men in kindergartens is good for the children, for the working environment and for activities in the kindergarten. The children need male role models. Men can bring to kindergartens new working practices and new culture. 

Of course men must be qualified for all the kindergarten’s tasks – intimacy, care and fully trained in all subjects in the framework plan. But we should value the activities men bring to the kindergarten, and that motivate them to do this job. It is a good thing that in nature kindergartens more men are discovering their vocation. At the same time we should be careful not to believe that it is only hardened outdoor types who will find that the kindergarten suits them. Men must be allowed to be just as diverse as women in kindergartens. I am nevertheless in no doubt that a better balance between the sexes will, in it self, lead to a greater diversity of activities in kindergartens. But we must avoid creating gender stereotypes. 

The framework plan states that, “the kindergarten shall prepare children to take part in and help to create a gender equal society”. Both goals of the action plan shall contribute to this. This presupposes activity and involvement at all levels of the kindergarten sector – in the kindergartens and among owners, local authorities and at university colleges. This work needs to be conducted purposefully, it needs to be supervised by management and it must be based on solid learning. We have the means. We only need to put them to use! 

So let us see where we are so that we can begin to plan the way ahead; what have we achieved so far? And what are the challenges that face us? 

More men in kindergartens

The media is interested in men in kindergartens, and many jeer at the target of 20 % men by the end of 2007. They are right: we will not achieve this target. But it does not mean that we are giving up. No, we shall continue the work! And we have every reason to hold our heads high. 

Since 1990 there has been a trebling of the number of men in kindergartens. In the action plan period, so far, we have seen an increase of 1109 more men. This is a good result. At the end of 2005 there were 5715 men working in kindergartens. In a growing sector this, however, does not have much effect on the percentage. At the end of 2005, 8.8 per cent of kindergarten staff were men. That is an increase of nearly one per cent from the previous year. There are regional variations that are not reflected in the overall national figure. Some counties are experiencing a solid improvement, others are not. Oslo, for example, has more than one thousand male kindergarten staff and has experienced an improvement well above the national average.

Increased interest among men in pre-school teacher training is promising for the future. In 2005, well over 15 per cent of the new students were men (316 of 2091).

You all have reason to be satisfied with the results achieved so far. Of the Nordic countries it is Norway that has seen progress in the recruitment of men. Denmark is doing quite well with a figure of a little under 10 per cent, but the percentage has fallen since the focus on this issue has been reduced. Finland and Sweden have a figure of 3 per cent male staff in kindergartens.

Quality Targets

Getting more men in kindergartens demands an effort from kindergarten management and the municipal authorities. Both public and private kindergarten management must have targets, in line with other quality raising targets, that the kindergarten shall have a good gender balance. Too few management teams have done this, and this is the challenge that is facing publicly owned kindergartens in particular.

The municipal authority as the local authority responsible for kindergartens has also the right to make demands of its kindergartens, and supervise the implementation of the framework plan. Moreover, the municipal authority is obliged by law to implement the gender equality measures in the municipal authority law and in line with the gender equality law. And this does not just apply to staff. The county governor has an important role as guide and supervisor to the municipal authorities.

 

Being informed

The Ministry of Education and Research shares the responsibility for ensuring that the sector is well informed about gender equality. We do this in several ways – through the provisions of the action plan and through the provisions of improved staff training in the kindergarten sector.

In connection with the adoption of the new framework plan the Ministry has commissioned experts in their fields to produce eight pamphlets. Two of them are on gender equality. Pia Friis has written about how to recruit and retain men in kindergartens. Nina Rossholt has written a pamphlet on gender equality in educational contexts. I hope you find these pamphlets useful both for reflection and for use in practice.

The Ministry and the county governors have spent resources on research and development projects that will develop effective ways of including gender equality in the educational work being done. More kindergartens than ever before have experienced gender equality work, and more research groups have contributed to his. Many people have gotten a surprise. I think that the belief is relatively widespread in the community, also among kindergarten staff, that they do not treat boys and girls differently. When this is examined more closely it is shown to be false.

There is not only one way of working with gender equality in kindergartens. We will not have any state authorisation. We must have diverse strategies adapted to the needs of each kindergarten. A good result with permanent effect must come out of the existing situation in real kindergartens.

In order to generate more methods and experience, gender equality has been adopted as a provision in The Research Council of Norway’s programme for applied research into kindergartens. The programme is part of the drive to improve skills within the sector. It will be announced before next year, and will run until 2009. 15.5 million kroner is being allocated annually to the programme. This is a significant effort within research and development in a close collaboration between kindergartens and the research community. I encourage the research community to utilize this opportunity to give us more practice oriented gender equality knowledge.

Skilled Staff

In 2006 the Norwegian Parliament allocated 50 million kroner to improving skills in the kindergarten sector. I am aware that this is not so much money for such a large sector. Yet, never before has so much money been allocated to the improvement of kindergartens and to training staff. This year the focus is on new legislation and a new framework plan, training for staff and applied research and development work. The county governors have been bolstered by 18 million kroner, and these means will provide concrete improvements to kindergartens. The government is extending this effort in its proposed budget for 2007.

This autumn, we have also started work upon a strategy for improving skills in all areas in this sector. I want to emphasize this; it is important that gender equality is considered in all measures that shall contribute to raising standards and improving the skills of staff.

Pre-school teacher training

University colleges have an important task in promoting gender equality in kindergartens. University colleges can actively contribute to the recruitment of men to pre-school teacher training. They can discuss children’s development from a gender equality perspective in the courses taught. They can prepare the students for further training and they can contribute to research. As long as gender equality learning is not an important part of pre-school teacher training, it will not be a concern that is shared by all kindergartens.

It is following this through, particularly with respect to university colleges and in research, which remains. In the budget proposal for 2007 the government has asked university colleges to work actively to recruit and retain men in pre-school teacher training. We will follow this up in our regular dialogue with the university colleges.

In the framework plan for pre-school teacher training guidelines are laid down for the university colleges’ gender equality work. How is this followed up? We will gather more knowledge about this, and we are evaluating strategies that can support the university colleges in the work of integrating gender equality in their teaching and throughout their courses.

Pre-school teachers are the best guarantee for quality and professionalism within the sector. We must have enough pre-school teachers for a fully developed kindergarten sector. In the Soria-Moria Declaration the government has an even higher aim: We will increase the proportion of pre-school teachers and other educators in kindergartens. We are not satisfied with the current situation that we have the lowest proportion of educators of all the Nordic countries. Our first goal is that the proportion of educators in kindergartens will be in line with today’s demands. Then we will evaluate how the proportion can be significantly increased.

In this work it goes without saying that we will also be looking into the recruitment of men. We will obtain information, by gender, of recruitment, drop-out rates both in training and from professionals, and what factors influence applications. You are now thinking that this means higher wages. I do too, to tell the truth. But you know my position in this area. Because this government is focusing on the unequal wages between female dominated professions and male dominated professions. During the summer, the Ministry of Children and Equality has set up the equal wages commission, which will develop good strategies. I look forward to this.

We are very happy to see a record number of applications to pre-school teacher training this year, and we have expanded the number of student places by 80. In addition, the means have been allocated to offer part-time teacher training courses.

The work you are doing and the experience you are gathering on how to recruit men is very important for the strategic plan to get more educators in kindergartens that we are now starting.

Social levelling

Before Christmas, the government will publish a parliamentary paper on education as a tool for social levelling. In this paper we are very concerned with earlier efforts. It provides a holistic analysis of how inequalities arise, are passed on and, in some cases, reinforced in various parts of the educational system. The analysis shows that it is clear that inequalities are also created based upon gender, and that gender is one explanation for social inequality. Gender equality has not come as far in some social groups and in specific minority groups as in society as a whole. It is boys in particular who are losing out.

The figures are clear; as a group boys are not doing as well as girls. They are underachieving in comparison to girls, have more behavioural problems, there are twice as many boys as girls who do not complete upper secondary education, and the proportion of boys that are entering higher education continues to fall. The differences between the sexes have increased – not necessarily because girls are doing better but because boys are doing less well. In fact, the differences between the sexes in performance at school are greater in the Nordic countries than in the rest of Europe. We need to find out why and how this can be changed.

Kindergartens can contribute to counteract the growing educational gap between boys and girls. It is a deeply rooted value both in kindergartens and schools that each child shall be seen and shall develop his or her potential. However, the increasing gap between boys and girls demands a response, particularly from kindergartens. Gender equality in the educational content of kindergartens’ work means being aware that boys or girls may need extraordinary attention and compensatory measures – in all subjects and in their general development. Why do we consider it so normal that “tomboys” are acceptable but not “feminine boys”?

This is a challenge that faces schools too. In the parliamentary paper we state our dedication to bolstering gender equality in schools. And we are putting the focus on kindergartens and early intervention and not a “wait-and-see” approach.

To finish off I repeat that it is an important task that you kindergarten workers face. I wish you good luck.