( Nombre, firma, cargo

To only consider gender identity when exploring underachievement in boys would be inadequate. Aspects other than sexuality shape a young person’s life, notably culture, class and disability. Young people live in different social groupings and networks that are not predicated on gender. Class, culture and ‘self’ are intertwined (Skeggs, 2004). There is a need to consider ‘intersectionality’. Intersectionality as a metaphor was originally

associated with inequality and oppression of black women (Carastathis, 2014) and coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989. Holvino (2010) goes further to suggest that although intersectionality is a concept that is used by feminists, there should be a

reconceptualisation of gender, class and race as simultaneous processes of identity, institutional and social practice. By processes of identity practice, I mean the ways in which race, gender and class produce and reproduce particular identities that define how individuals come to see themselves and how others see them (p. 248).

Intersectionality is a term that has developed to become a way of considering the interplay of different categories that shape an individual’s identity: identities arise from the social groupings or networks to which an individual belongs. For example, in the late 1970s Willis (1997) found that when considering boys’ underachievement, factors other than gender were seen to be having a negative impact, notably poverty and class. Also during that time gender identity for women predominated over class because social class alone did not explain oppression of women (Kane, 2011). Mac an Ghaill and Haywood (2011: 730) suggest that consideration should be given to “the renewal of class analysis of schooling, social relations and identity formations” to establish an understanding of the complexity of their interaction. This is to respond to “the productive tension between materialist and poststructuralist positions”. Further, they suggest that intersectionality is not simply the addition of, for example gender and class but how they articulate with one another. There should be a focus on the “indivisibility of social categories” (p. 738).

that could be considered advantaged or privileged and not oppressed. All of the boys were white. There is a range of work that has considered the intersectionality of gender and working class to explore identities and disengagement with schooling both in primary and secondary schools: Francis (2000a, 2005), Reay (2001, 2002), Renold (2004), Jackson (2006), Dunne and Gazeley, (2008). Race, ethnic and cultural impact on boys’ attainment is well documented. There appears to be lack of academic literature on the intersectionality of attainment, gender and class with a focus on boys and privilege as far as can be

determined. In this section I explore the concept of class and the intersection of this with attainment and gender.

The concept of class is complex. Knights (1990, cited in Mac an Ghaill and Haywood, 2011: 738) suggested that social class could be thought of as a set of descriptions of ‘self- production’ spread through a “multiplicity of power relations.” Reay (2006a) argues that social class is critical to how a learner sees their identity and is an important consideration for education. Class like gender is a social category. It is important to stress that living within a social grouping or network does not mean that how an individual acts out their class or social role is fixed, or that groupings are homogeneous. As Butler (1993) used the concept of enactment for gender, others use a similar philosophical approach for social or class identity. Furlong et al. (2011: 360) makes the distinction between the “structural historical condition” which suggests a fixed class identity, and the individual’s lived experience, which is fluid and iterative, ever changing through constant repetition. This concurs with Beck (Beck and Beck-Gernsheim, 2002), who suggests that the world has moved towards “individualisation”. Furthermore, Furlong et al. (2011: 366) uses the concept of the ‘social generation’ framework to explore how, in the longer term, culture is exhibited in the social context. The social generation framework has multi-generational units that respond differently in different social settings reinforcing the fluidity of social identity.

Bourdieu (1990) developed an approach that uses concepts of ‘habitus’, ‘capital’ and ‘field’ as tools to provide an analysis of how identities are constructed within social groupings. These groupings have structure and norms. Habitus is how individuals live out their social identity and comes from within the individual, shaped by the social aspects of their lives, notably their family. Habitus is complex because of the interplay of different socialising experiences. The way individuals behave is explained using habitus. The field is the context in which the individuals find themselves. Habitus and field are continually interacting. The third tool of capital, with the specific focus on ‘social’ capital, is an

individual’s positioning according to power within a social group or network and

‘symbolic’ capital which is associated with role. The analysis of intersection of habitus and capital could be considered to explain academic engagement within the school setting. Both the tools ascribed by Furlong et al. and those by Bourdieu are being applied to social identity. Reay (2006c) suggests that social class shapes gender and other identities, which presupposes that the concepts of gender identity and social identity/class identity are not mutually exclusive.

The habitus of middle class adolescent boys is strongly influenced by family expectations and aspirations and, according to Arnot (2002: 43), is shaped early in a child’s life. Arnot (2002: 43) further postulates that

This ‘habit-forming force’ becomes the foundation of perceptions and appreciation in all subsequent experiences – educational action may transform early training but according to Bourdieu, it can never totally reverse its effects.

The expectations of middle class families are to be successful academically, usually through university entrance, to allow access to professional careers (Savage et al., 2001). Skeggs (2004:135) describes how possessions shape their middle class “personhood”. And to be middle class is to work at acquisition. Further, Skeggs asserts that it is important to be aware of the rules, but more importantly knowing how to display behaviours that identify with the rules. This is pertinent here for young people living with privilege who are aware of what expectations are placed on them to retain the status of the family. Schools and classrooms are active in shaping pupil identity. One study by Ingram (2009), examining the habitus of working class boys in Northern Ireland, shows how boys’ identity is shaped and reshaped by the schools they attend. Although Ingram’s study is about working class boys, it is possible to extrapolate to middle class boys, the subjects in this doctoral study, and how the school can construct their identity. Reay (2006a: 296) cites evidence that educational systems cater for middle classes interests, which suggests that schools are inherently shaping a ‘middle class’ identity. In addition, the discourse of underachievement is one that could be impacting on academically able boys. This could have an impact on how middle class boys perceive and construct their learner identity, which is displayed in their behaviours. Frank et al. (2003: 123) discuss how the lived experiences of boys and how they perform academically as “multiply constructed within the intersections of a variety of social positions, including issues of race, class, ethnicity, sexuality and ability.”

identities, gives young people many choices and through the enactment of these choices how they navigate them (Furlong et al., 2011). The complexity of class and gender, their interplay, the power relationships and the hegemonic discourses within both class and gender will impact on social identity. Mac an Ghaill and Haywood (2011) recommend that work is needed to consider how to make schools less centred on the positioning of class. They suggest that schools are still perceived as reinforcing class and class divisions, but at the same time giving an environment that is complex in terms of identity construction for young people to experience. From the literature, it suggests that there is pressure on middle class boys to meet the aspirations and expectations of parents but at the same time

navigating the multiple masculine identities. This intersection could be contributing to shaping behaviour and attitude.

3.7 Concluding remarks

This review of gender theory set a context for this study of the gendered patterns of attainment explored through the voices of pupils, teachers and their parents. Using the arguments discussed about the contested nature of gender raised questions for this doctoral study about the complexity of boys’ identities in the contemporary context of a Scottish secondary school, particularly those boys who would appear to have the ability, and the advantage to be academically successful; how gender is perceived within the educational setting both from the perspective of young people themselves, teachers and parents; and how this could be shaping pedagogical approaches, relationships, expectations, and

aspirations. This also raised issues about if, and in what ways, teachers are interacting with pupils from a gender critical perspective and how teachers are considering the complexity of gender identity in their practice Reed (2006: 44).

Chapter 4: Gender and Attainment