The premature sexualisation of young people is a source of intense public anxiety, often framed as an unprecedented crisis. Concurrently, a critical scholarship highlights problematic assumptions underpinning this discourse, including a positioning of young people as morally compromised passive subjects, and a disconnect between the reductionist…

This paper draws on the story of "Mikael", a schoolboy from northern Finland, to examine how his affective ties of compassion and his pursuit of dominant forms of masculinity evolve in his journey from middle childhood to young adulthood. In his earlier years, Mikael's speech regarding his relationships with peers and family members…

In this empirical study, the authors draw on classroom observations and interviews with twenty-three Black male ninth graders in an urban district to focus on the nature of disciplinary practices in an all-Black, all-male manhood development class. While scholars have identified the "discipline gap" as a salient aspect of the experience…

This dissertation responds to the question: How is sexuality organized in elementary schools? I argue that despite the absence of overt discussions on sexuality in elementary schools, sexuality is "organized" through social processes that are recursively linked to ideology. Due to the widely held belief that "children" and…

The paper explores the ways girls appropriate gender through actions, gesture and talk to achieve things in primary school science classrooms. It draws on socio-cultural approaches to show that when everyday classroom practices are viewed from multiple planes of analysis, historical, institutional and in the micro dynamics of classroom…

In this article Julianne Guillard describes her loosely structured approach to student participation in her Introduction to Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies course. She describes this approach toward participation (which helps create a welcoming, "safe space" environment) along with feedback, both positive and negative, from…

Drawing from interviews with adolescent boys ages 15-17 who attend a co-educational high school in Perth, Western Australia, explores the ways in which boys fashion their masculinities. Uses Foucault's claims about the production of subjectivity to investigate the norms informing the boys' conduct. Considers implications for addressing issues of…

Ex-Education Minister Stephen Byers claimed that "laddish behaviour" was in part responsible for English boys' academic underachievement. Presents and discusses students' responses to Byers' claim. Draws data from the semi-structured interviews of a study with 100 14-16-year-old students. (CMK)

"Laddish" attitudes and behaviours are central to current discourses on boys' "underachievement," as they are seen by many people to impede the progress of some boys in school. Whilst the vast majority of concern about "laddishness" has, to date, focused upon boys, according to media reports there are now good reasons…

Examines the gender gap in classroom interactions between teachers and students in eight English secondary schools, focusing on the views of teaching staff, the perspectives of Year 11 students, and observations of teacher-student interaction in the classroom. Suggests that boys and girls are treated differently in many classrooms. (CMK)

This report is part of a series of surveys that reflect MetLife's continued efforts to bring insight and understanding to current issues in education that affect American public schools. MetLife's overall goal is to bring the opinions of teachers and students to the attention of educators, policymakers and the American public. The 1997 survey…