'Even the girls are lads in Hawk class!': an ethnographic study of the interplay of language and gender in a North London primary school.
Lead Research Organisation:
Goldsmiths University of London
Department Name: English and Comparative Literature
Abstract
Research Context
Drawing on a hitherto unexplored data set - a primary-school class of 10- and 11-year-old pupils from mostly middle-class backgrounds in London - this study will challenge existing findings on gender in linguistic and education research, in particular the claim that 'laddishness' goes hand-in-hand with academic failure (Clare 2003; Jackson 2006). The mixed-sex group of 29 appears to negotiate a new form of laddish identity and uses it as a resource for academic and social success. Using ethnographic methods (observation and participant opinion) alongside linguistic microanalysis to place interactions into context, this study will explore the extent to which the children in Hawk class (pseudonym used) resist traditional expectations of gender, exploit laddishness as a resource for identity construction, and perhaps even offer evidence of changing gender roles in the 21st century.
Research Aims & Objectives
This project seeks to answer the following research questions:
- How do the children in Hawk class perform their gender through the way they speak?
- To what extent does their adopted version of laddishness contribute to their academic and social success?
- How is laddishness exploited by the girls in their performance of leadership?
- What is the interplay between laddishness, gender and politeness in this group?
Initial research has identified three areas of interest: 1. gender and achievement; 2. female leadership; 3. politeness strategies.
Gender and Achievement
Concerns about the relationship between gender and achievement are common in education discourses, where exam results of boys and girls are regularly attributed to gender. The growth of laddish culture in schools has alarmed commentators (cf Epstein et al 1998), who see it as synonymous with boys' underachievement. It is this concept of laddishness - described by Jackson (2006: 1) as behaviours which encourage boys, and, more recently, girls, to misbehave to gain peer approval and to find learning boring - that the children in this study defy. This study will question the meaning of laddishness by examining the role that this group's understanding of it plays in enabling them to achieve both social and academic goals in primary school.
Gender and Leadership
Judith Baxter (2010) outlines the 'double-bind' (Lakoff 1975) women face in leadership: enacting authority whilst adhering to societal expectations of women. Initial ethnographic research for this study suggests there are four girls seen as leaders in the group: how have these girls achieved respect from others in the class whilst avoiding perceptions of bossiness? And, to what extent has their 'lad' identity contributed to their achievement of this? This study will examine the strategies these girls use to perform their leadership identities.
Gender and Politeness
Initial research suggests that the participants challenge traditional ideas about gender and politeness (Brown & Levinson 1987), often reversing gender stereotypes. The boys often use 'deference' politeness styles when asking for help (Lakoff 1990: 34), and the girls use more directness. This study aims to show 'the various motivations, intentions and interests' (Mills 2003: 19) in these interactions that enable speakers to perform their identities, exposing the influence of laddishness.
Potential Applications & Benefits
This study will have an impact in education: it aims to show that laddishness can be used to facilitate, not hinder, achievement both socially and academically for boys and girls. Recent studies on adolescents focus mainly on accent or dialect features (Pichler 2009: 5), so conducting an exploration on a discourse level enables new practices used by an unexplored data set in a cross-disciplinary research context to be uncovered. This approach allows its conclusions to be relevant to fields of study beyond linguistics and education.
Drawing on a hitherto unexplored data set - a primary-school class of 10- and 11-year-old pupils from mostly middle-class backgrounds in London - this study will challenge existing findings on gender in linguistic and education research, in particular the claim that 'laddishness' goes hand-in-hand with academic failure (Clare 2003; Jackson 2006). The mixed-sex group of 29 appears to negotiate a new form of laddish identity and uses it as a resource for academic and social success. Using ethnographic methods (observation and participant opinion) alongside linguistic microanalysis to place interactions into context, this study will explore the extent to which the children in Hawk class (pseudonym used) resist traditional expectations of gender, exploit laddishness as a resource for identity construction, and perhaps even offer evidence of changing gender roles in the 21st century.
Research Aims & Objectives
This project seeks to answer the following research questions:
- How do the children in Hawk class perform their gender through the way they speak?
- To what extent does their adopted version of laddishness contribute to their academic and social success?
- How is laddishness exploited by the girls in their performance of leadership?
- What is the interplay between laddishness, gender and politeness in this group?
Initial research has identified three areas of interest: 1. gender and achievement; 2. female leadership; 3. politeness strategies.
Gender and Achievement
Concerns about the relationship between gender and achievement are common in education discourses, where exam results of boys and girls are regularly attributed to gender. The growth of laddish culture in schools has alarmed commentators (cf Epstein et al 1998), who see it as synonymous with boys' underachievement. It is this concept of laddishness - described by Jackson (2006: 1) as behaviours which encourage boys, and, more recently, girls, to misbehave to gain peer approval and to find learning boring - that the children in this study defy. This study will question the meaning of laddishness by examining the role that this group's understanding of it plays in enabling them to achieve both social and academic goals in primary school.
Gender and Leadership
Judith Baxter (2010) outlines the 'double-bind' (Lakoff 1975) women face in leadership: enacting authority whilst adhering to societal expectations of women. Initial ethnographic research for this study suggests there are four girls seen as leaders in the group: how have these girls achieved respect from others in the class whilst avoiding perceptions of bossiness? And, to what extent has their 'lad' identity contributed to their achievement of this? This study will examine the strategies these girls use to perform their leadership identities.
Gender and Politeness
Initial research suggests that the participants challenge traditional ideas about gender and politeness (Brown & Levinson 1987), often reversing gender stereotypes. The boys often use 'deference' politeness styles when asking for help (Lakoff 1990: 34), and the girls use more directness. This study aims to show 'the various motivations, intentions and interests' (Mills 2003: 19) in these interactions that enable speakers to perform their identities, exposing the influence of laddishness.
Potential Applications & Benefits
This study will have an impact in education: it aims to show that laddishness can be used to facilitate, not hinder, achievement both socially and academically for boys and girls. Recent studies on adolescents focus mainly on accent or dialect features (Pichler 2009: 5), so conducting an exploration on a discourse level enables new practices used by an unexplored data set in a cross-disciplinary research context to be uncovered. This approach allows its conclusions to be relevant to fields of study beyond linguistics and education.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Chloe Cheetham (Student) |