The Nordic Countries have often been depicted as progressive societies in respect to gender equality, sexual and gender diversity. According to the latest European value survey (from 2008) the Nordic countries rank among the highest in Europe in respect LGBTQ acceptance. This is also the case for gender equality, at least according to the latest gender equality report by the World Economic Forum (2015). Moreover, in respect to legal frameworks and protection of sexual minorities, the Nordic countries rank among the 10 highest (IGLA Europe, 2015). However, these progressive changes in respect to LGBTQ rights and issues, have not brought about radical changes in educational policies with regards to addressing gender and sexuality equality in schools. Clearly stated and overall protection of LGBTQ-students, particularly within the compulsory and secondary school, is often lacking. The same applies to specific policies on LGBTQ issues within the education system, where they are submerged within silence in many national curricula (Røthing, 2008). Thus, LGBTQ students and teachers are not so visible in schools and educational institutions. Moreover, some researchers have suggested that in many Nordic educational institutions, institutional processes, which police and silence non-heterosexuality and sustain a discourse of heternormativity of gendernormalization, are widespread (Bloom & Lange, 2004; Kjaran & Jóhannesson, 2013, 2015). In fact, there is a discrepancy between broader social policies, which support equality on the basis of gender and sexuality, and the education context (Kjaran & Kristinsdóttir, 2015). The main objective of this paper is to investigate this discrepancy and account for it. In doing so, I will discuss in detail what kind of educational policies on gender and sexualities are in place within the Nordic context, and what do they lack in content and scope to create anti-oppressive schools. In order to answer these questions I use official documents, laws and regulation, manifested in the national curricula, pedagogies and policies.

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