Giving parents a choice regarding which schools educate their children has been central to the discourse of school choice in England for many years. This choice and the capacity to make it has implications for all concerned. However, little research has been done on the impact this choice, and the transition has on the way that women perform motherhood during this time. This study aimed to investigate and understand the effect of the school choice process on the mothers of children undergoing this transition and the ways they perform motherhood. Carried out in a small, rural area in East Anglia, this case study used a narrative approach to interview 15 mothers who had been through or were going through the process. The results of the research show that the transition to secondary school was a critical site of performativity and a catalyst for the women’s exploration of how they performed motherhood. Also, the research showed that the mothers all placed an importance on the local community as part of their performance of motherhood, linking the physical with the performative arenas. Contrary to previous research, the engagement with the process and the experiences of the mothers were not shared and were carried out on a private basis. This research leads to a greater understanding of the impact of the school choice process on mothers and their performance of motherhood and expands upon the decisions made and the way the educational market operates.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:718490 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | O'Neill, Helen |
| Publisher | Keele University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://eprints.keele.ac.uk/3776/ |
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