The race to institutional change: the slow road to policy change in sexuality education

The controversial and politicized nature of sexuality and the plurality of actors and interests involved make sexuality education an inherently complex public policy issue. This paper employs the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) to unpack how an advocacy coalition influenced the sexuality education policymaking process in Norway (2006-2018). The study examines the interconnections between actors' beliefs, goals, and strategies in the policy subsystem. Interviews with key actors and an analysis of policy documents reveal the central role played by knowledge and policy entrepreneurs in shaping change trajectories via policy learning and professional forums. Static, formal, and informal institutions constituted hindering factors to policy change. The study suggests that evidence production and sharing are essential to framing the policy problem. It identifies civil society organizations and bureaucrats as central knowledge producers and promoters. This paper also highlights policy actors' proactive agency in exploiting windows of opportunity and effecting institutional change.