This article advances a gender-conscious conception of relational education emanating from the Taking Boys Seriously longitudinal participatory action research initiative in Northern Ireland. The study is grounded in the voices and experiences of boys from disadvantaged communities who have been disengaged, disinterested, or excluded from school.…

This paper considers whether societal changes are making space for some working-class boys to go against the grain and foster positive reader identities. Drawing on interviews with 30 Australian boys about their experiences at school, Nancy Fraser's social justice framework is used to explore their parity of participation as readers. Responses…

This case study narrative examines the circumstances underlying problems of residency in an affluent Midwest suburb experiencing an unexpected influx of working class African American students. Dilemmas engender a cultural mismatch between teachers and students and discomfort with African-American males. In a controversial climate where students…

This study examines change and the conditions of change in the masculinity of Olli, a working-class Finnish school boy. It explores "respect" as a status bound to masculine reputation, resources for obtaining respect in gendered identity work, and the negotiation of power in peer relations. I discuss how a "banal balancer"…

This article examines recent claims by Jeffrey Smith that: (1) "hegemonic masculinity" is an expression of working class counter-school culture; (2) some teachers are "cultural accomplices" in constructing "hegemonic masculinities" of anti-school working class boys, thereby contributing to their underachievement; and (3) these "cultural…

The ongoing moral panic surrounding adolescent boys continues to cause concern, proving pivotal in popular discourses centring on the "problem of youth". Drawing on ethnographic data from a large co-educational secondary school, this paper illustrates how school outcomes are adversely affected by working class boys' investments in peer…

This paper examines the "remaking" of white working class masculinities in the latter quarter of the twentieth century. It draws on ethnographic data gathered at two points in time in order to interrogate the relation of macro-economic and social relations on individual and group identities; to excavate the social psychological relations…

This collection of papers examines the crisis in public education, focusing on poor and minority children. There are seven chapters in two parts. After "Introduction: Silenced Voices and Extraordinary Conversations" (Michelle Fine and Lois Weis), Part 1, "Scenes of Silencing," includes: (1) "Silencing and Nurturing Voice…