Becoming Ryan: lines of flight from majoritarian understandings of masculinity through a high school reading and mentoring program. A story of possibility

Within literature relating to the broad field of boys’ education attention is regularly drawn to the significant difference between essentialist and anti-essentialist accounts of “the boy problem” and the limitations of gender-based educational reforms which rely upon deterministic notions of what boys are ‘really’ like and, by extension, what they ‘really’ need. While these deterministic interventions have been widely critiqued in academic literature they nevertheless continue to dominate school and media based discussions about how to best support alienated, disengaged and at risk boys. This raises questions about the extent to which anti-essentialist approaches can be made more accessible and meaningful to teachers in schools. It further suggests the value of developing detailed accounts of real world interventions that have had a demonstrably positive impact upon the boys involved without reinforcing essentialist notions of masculinity. Adopting an attitude of “educated hope” (Giroux, http://www.units.muohio.edu/eduleadership/anthology/OA/OA03001.html, 2003) and drawing upon the resources of (Deleuze and Guattari, A thousand plateaus: Capitalism and schizophrenia, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 1987), this paper examines one such case of anti-essentialist reform involving three Australian schools. It explores one particular boy’s experience of an intervention known as Boys with Books and argues that Ryan’s journey can be conceptualised as a line of flight away from traditional forms of masculinity: a journey in progress that has impacted positively upon his relationships with peers and teachers and changed his beliefs about his possible future options. The paper, therefore, illustrates the capacity for teachers and schools to display anti-essentialist understandings about masculinity while responding in practical and ‘do-able’ ways to the needs of at risk, alienated and underperforming boys in schools.     

Perspectives on positioning,interaction, and learning in small-group discussion: possibilities for extending the analytic lens

In this forum piece, we respond to Karin Due’s study of social dynamics in groups of students in physics class and gender issues that play out in this context. We discuss two threads that appear in Due’s paper: one pertains to patterns of talk within groups and how these patterns open up possibilities for learning, the other pertains to ways in which gender is constructed within groups and made visible via discourse. Our comments are intended to provide alternative ways of thinking about such issues. We hope to provide insight into how to deepen analyses of group dynamics and gender because research in both areas is important in terms of understanding how social contexts support and/or constrain learning, gender identity, and the like.     

Insider accounts of dyslexia from research mathematicians

Educational Studies in Mathematics - Within educational research, dyslexia and other disabilities are typically conceptualized as deficits. The theory of neurodiversity encourages researchers to...     

“We’re More Than a Daycare”: Reported Roles and Settings for Early Childhood Professionals and Implications for Professionalizing the Field

Early Childhood Education Journal - In the US, recent efforts have focused on professionalizing the field of early childhood. One way to indicate professionalism is through the terms used to...     

Self-reported knowledge on literacy of Israeli speech-language pathologists and special education teachers

The promotion of literacy skills is considered a cornerstone in the work of special education teachers (SETs) and speech-language pathologists (SLPs). The present study examined the self-reported literacy knowledge of Israeli 67 SETs and 72 SLPs along three dimensions: development, assessment and intervention, and emergent literacy. Participants in both groups completed an individually delivered Likert-based survey. The main findings indicated positive correlations between development, assessment, and emergent literacy in both groups and no differences in their knowledge about emergent literacy. In contrast, SLPs reported lack of knowledge in literacy development, assessment and intervention, compared to SETs. The relationship between language modalities - reading, writing, oral language – seems to determine the role of each profession in literacy. Furthermore, the perception of written language as a modality or as a style of discourse was not conclusive in both groups. Therefore, policy makers and training programs should continue to deepen the training of professional staffs, especially by encouraging and training SLPs to address written language. Furthermore, the demarcation of the field of linguistic literacy of each profession is not evident in practice and needs to be discussed and coordinated to achieve true and optimal inter-professional cooperation.     

Parties,Lads, Friends,Love and Newcastle United: A study of young people's values

Traditional research into values has tended to dichotomise young people into categories of self and other orientations. In the present study values were explored within a contemporary context and analysed into more complex value sets. The sample comprised of 111 girls and 133 boys, aged 11-16 (mean = 13.2, SD = 1.14), who responded to four open-ended sentences designed to tap philosophies of life, fears and underlying values. The pleasures in life for girls tended to centre on relationships with family, friends and boys, whereas boys enjoyed activities such as sport. Many desired to win the National Lottery, although they also concurrently held humanistic values. The potential impact of these value sets on development during adolescence is discussed. For these young people, the best things in life are free but, like many adults, they dream of fame and fortune.