| Summary: | Iceland has a specific clause on gender equality education in the 2011 National Curriculum issued for all school levels, and the legislation about gender equality also stipulates gender equality education at all school levels. Yet a number of studies of the Icelandic schools suggest that the schools, overall, do not deliver successful gender equality education (e.g., Þorgerður Einarsdóttir & Ingólfur Ásgeir Jóhannesson, 2011; Þórdís Þórðardóttir, 2016). The preschool level, called leikskólar (direct translation: playschools), is the first school level in Iceland. This study focuses on the learning environment and play materials in six randomly selected Icelandic preschools, and on the ideas of the teachers of the oldest children in the schools (typically five-year-old children). The article asks two questions: Can open play materials be the basis for gender equality education in the preschools? What kind of impact do ideas about children’s free choice of play and play materials have on gender equality education? We observed the play in one classroom for one to three hours in each school and after that the preschool teacher in charge was interviewed. The findings suggest that there is an emphasis on open play materials, also called undefined play materials, and also on recycled play materials. These two are not synonyms, although the recycled materials are most often open. Open play materials could be purchased materials without predetermined purposes, such as blocks, clay, paint, or wooden toys. Examples of recycled materials included yogurt containers, cardboard boxes, textiles, old toys, and jigsaw puzzles which are often gifts from various households. Our findings are organized under two headings: Open play materials and recycled play materials; and the question is whether the preschools are organized as genderneutral or strategically from a gender equality education perspective. In all participating schools, open play materials played a large role, whether purchased or recycled. The preschool teachers ...
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