ABSTRACT

This chapter addresses current debates in the study and theoretical analysis of gender and gender equity in education. Both gender and equity have been linked as I view them as deeply intertwined in relation to current theoretical debates in education. However, the main thrust of the chapter is concerned with an overview of the field across the last two decades with an emphasis upon the part played by theory in the making of the field. A secondary aim is to describe and assess cutting-edge debates about gender (as operating conceptually in education) in the field in the United Kingdom, North America and continental Europe. In summary, then, the goal of the chapter is to provide a broad overview of the field and both elaborate and speculate on its future directions in relation to larger theoretical trends, broad educational changes and debates in the social sciences and humanities.