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The 19th century saw the emergence of national systems of mass education across Europe. In Sweden, the School Act of 1842 placed the main financial responsibility, as well as a significant influence over the educational content and organization of schools, on the local school boards. This included determining differences in the educational content for girls and boys. Despite the fact that previous research has noted several cases of gender inequality, few have looked into the role of gender structures within the Swedish elementary school (folkskola). 

This study aims to describe and explain how the conditions, organization, and content of education was affected by gender structures during the emergence of the Swedish folkskola. This is accomplished through an empirical study of the education of girls between 1840–1920. The primary object of study is schoolgirls: however, since gender is regarded as relational, the analysis is conducted in relation to the education of schoolboys. The study employs an intersectional and gender-theoretical framework, where social factors or categories are seen as intersecting and interacting. In addition to gender, class constitutes the main analytical category. 

The main finding of the dissertation is that folkskolan reproduced a system that positioned girls a subordinate group in relation to boys. This subordination took place in several ways: partly through the distribution of students into special groups, classes, or schools, and partly through differences in access to education and the content of education. Girls were largely regarded as future mothers, with reproductive work in the home as their primary purpose. The study also shows how the folkskola was characterized from the outset by gender stereotypes, which influenced perceptions of the education offered to girls and boys respectively. These stereotypes were manifested in both the elementary school's governing documents and in school practice. Although girls’ access to education generally increased during the period, there was an institutionalized gender difference whereby girls’ educational needs were considered different from those of boys.