In the Nordic Countries gender equality is seen as a significant value. It is also a task obligated by the law to schools and universities. For teachers promoting gender equality is not aquestion of opinion, but an obligatory responsibility. The “Act on Equality between Women and Men of 1987 has stated the purpose to “prevent discrimination on the basis of sex and to promote equality between women and men, and, for this purpose, to improve the status of women particularly in working life”. The university is a community to which students also belong. The gender matters in the university community and the equality of gender is the central objective of the higher education. The future teachers and the professionals in the field of education will be in the key position when an attempt is made to promote the gender equality in the society, therefore it is important to study their views. The students' views are needed as well to look after gender equality in the practices of education and to develop curricula in higher education. (Lahelma 2006.)

In spite of a global aim to integrate feminist studies in teacher training research tell about the fact that teacher students are poorly prepared for the gendered environment of the classroom. (Cushman 2010; Malmgren & Weiner 2001; Poole & Isaacs 1993; Titus 2000; Younger & Warrington 2008; Vavrus 2009.) Finland has a history of hundreds of equality projects in education over the last decades. Our research is conducted as a part of a Finnish national project “Gender Awareness in Teacher Education” (2008–2010) funded by Ministry of Education. The aim of the project was to examine the curricula and develop pedagogies in perspective of gender awareness and equality in the units, departments and the faculties involved in teacher training and education. Gender awareness refers to awareness of the inequalities that are taking form in the practices and processes of schools and education.

The purpose of our study is to explore perceptions of students’ concerning the positions of issues around gender equality and awareness within the contents of their studies.

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