Celebrate Birth!—The Empowered Pregnancy That Changed My Life

Midwifery led care transforms the experience of Naima Beckles, a Black woman who gave birth for the first time over a decade ago. Here she describes how an empowered birth laid the groundwork for a career as a birth worker.     

Whose Knowledge? Whose Opportunities? The Demise of the Critical Academy?

This paper explores the emotional and social dynamic of girl's friendship groups in the primary phase of schooling. Previous research by one of the authors suggests that some primary head teachers viewed the particular groupings of girls as providing mutually supportive contexts for group members. Through discussion, interviews and observations of girls and their teachers in years 2, 4 and 6 of three inner city primary schools we aim to provide an insight into the organization of the groups, the rules which govern group membership, and the role groups play in defining the quality and nature of the girls relationships and their social networks at school. We further explore the impact that such social networks have for learning and the role the girls' teachers play in this process.