The “boy problem” in public policy

Abstract

The article investigates how gender differences in school performance are conceptualized in recent Swedish and Norwegian public commission reports against the backdrop of an increasing public focus on “problem boys” and boys' underachievement in school as a policy challenge. We found substantive country differences, despite regime similarities and the considerable level of gender equality norms and policy diffusion within the Nordic region. Whereas Swedish reports address gender differences in school performance and behavior equipped with radical feminist perspectives and theories of patriarchal oppression, Norwegian reports largely avoid explicit references to feminist theory and include analyses of the unfair burdens of boys in school and society. It is argued that the diverging approaches are connected to features of the commissions and of the wider knowledge regimes of the two gender equality forerunners, but also to historical differences in the ideological underpinnings of Swedish and Norwegian gender equality policy making.Related ArticlesIreni‐Saban, Liza. 2013. “Give Me Children or Else I Die: The Politics and Policy of Cross‐Border Reproductive Care.” Politics & Policy 41(1): 5–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12004.Svallfors, Stefan, Erica Falkenström, Corrie Hammar, and Anna T. Höglund. 2022. “Networked Reports: Commissioning and Production of Expert Reports on Swedish Health Care Governance.” Politics & Policy 50(3): 580–97. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12462.Tusalem, Rollin F. 2022. “Does Gendered Representation in National Legislatures Promote Substantive Representation and Human Development? Evidence from the Developing World.” Politics & Policy 50(6): 1096–137. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12503.

Summary of articles in the February 2024 issue of Politics & Policy and a few editor's tips

“…Against the backdrop of an increasing public concern with "problem boys" and boys' underachievement in school, Holst and Teigen (2024) examine "The 'Boy Problem' in Public Policy" in Scandinavia. Despite regime similarities, considerable policy diffusion, and being country forerunners in gender equality, the study finds key differences between Swedish and Norwegian gender-based education policy that should not be ignored.…”

“…In their expansive study of 49 countries, Malmberg and Saikkonen (2024) deliver a wellplaced companion paper to Holst and Teigen's (2024) article that also centers on perceptions of gender differences, this time relating to political corruption. They ask why some polities are more prone to perceive women as less corrupt and more risk averse than men.…”