Heteronormativitet i naturkunskap : En läromedelsanalys av området sexualitet, samtycke och relationer

Sammanfattning

The aim of this study is to identify heteronormative beliefs in upper secondary school textbooks for the course Sciene studies 1b. The study is qualitative andanalyzes chapters on sexuality, consent and relationships. The content of the chapters has been divided, through a thematic analysis, into six themes. After that a content analysis was done, where the content of all themes was categorized as either confirming, challenging or omitted from the heteronorm. Previous research on the prevalence of heteronormativity in textbooks is limited. The research that does exist demonstrates the existence and prevalence of heteronormativity in science textbooks for upper secondary school. However, the extent of heteronormativity in the analyzed textbooks varies across studies. Previous studies have presented the extent of heteronormativity through conclusions and examples, while this study presents percentages of the prevalence of the heteronorm. The results of the study show that confirmation of the heteronorm occurred in 6.2 percent of the content of the analyzed material in the textbooks while approximately 50 percent of the content challenges the heteronorm. The remainder of the content has been categorized as norm omitted. This is because for this content the heteronorm could not be considered as either confirmed or challenged. The results of the study also show that the heteronorm is challenged most within the study's themes of "Gender identity, sexualorientation and norms" and "Love and relationships", while it is confirmed to the greatest extent within the theme "Menstruation and pregnancy". There is also a difference between the analyzed textbooks, where the heteronorm is confirmed, challenged or omitted to different extents. The study's conclusion shows that the extent of the heteronorm in general science textbooks appears to have decreased, compared to previous international and national research. Despite this, confirmation of the heteronorm still occurs in the examined textbooks, although to a small extent. Since the heteronorm is still considered confirmed to some extent and the number of studies in the area is limited, further research in the area is required. At the same time, this also means that the study's conclusions are not considered generalizable. Finally, the decrease in the extent of the heteronorm suggests that there are positive effects for LGBTQI individuals and an increased equivalence in education.