This thesis uses a poststructuralist methodology and leads to a Foucauldian analysis of
power, subjectivity and discursive practices for a group of twelve boys in a Year 3 and 4
classroom.
The thesis is written in a poststructuralist way, and as such, it is experimental. It
experiments with a writing style that encourages the critical engagement of the reader in
deconstructing the text. The personal subjectivity of the author is placed in the
foreground risking a vulnerability that is not apparent in theses generally.
The thesis describes the structure and practicalities of research in a primary school
classroom using a video camera to collect data. Transcripts were made from videotapes
of a school day and interviews with the boys. These were analysed for the frequency of
use of Foucault's "disciplinary techniques" using qualitative research software.
Furthermore computer analysis assisted the extraction of "mini-narratives" from the
transcripts. These "mini-narratives" are used to lead a description of the subjectivity of
the boys and their positioning in the discourses of schooling and hegemonic masculinity.
A picture emerges of a young male subjectivity caught up in the dilemmas of concurrent
positioning in both schooling practices and hegemonic masculinity practices. It is
proposed that boys often see their available positionings as limited by schooling
discourse to "positive-female" or "negative-male". Hegemonic masculinity discourse
limits available positioning to "positive male" or "negative-female". Positioning by the
boys in these discourses is depicted as rapidly changing to the extent that inconsistencies
and confusions arise for boys. The "mini-narratives" use the transcribed voices of the
boys to tell of the challenges and practicalities of being a boy in a primary school.
Recommendations are made that include moving beyond dualistic ways of subject
positioning. The recommendations include ideas for teachers to involve themselves and
their students in developing new ways of speaking about gender difference.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218957 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Glenn-Hume, David, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Teacher Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright David Glenn-Hume |
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