Challenging Pedagogy: Emotional Disruptions, Young Girls, Parents and Schools

Abstract

This paper follows on from a research project which explored the inclusionary and exclusionary dynamics of young girls’ friendship groups. This initial study received considerable media attention in the UK, Europe and Australia and consequently came to the attention of a wider audience beyond the academy who were thus given an opportunity to engage with the research findings. Having previously explored and analysed the emotionally disabling everyday practices experienced by the girls in the initial research project, the voices of these other adults offered a possibility to explore, examine and analyse the experiences of their daughters and themselves and as a result offered insights that challenge the day to day practices in the classroom. The focus of this paper therefore, is to explore the emotionally raw moments as articulated through the stories told by these adults and to examine what meaning and sense is conveyed about the prevailing norms and values of the school underpinning their pedagogy and practice. We contextualise emotions within a theoretical framework of Sara Ahmed and bell hooks that views emotions in terms of power and culture. The data analysed include contributions from the public to a radio phone-in as well as email responses. The analysis makes explicit the dynamics of power in girls’ friendship groups revealing action/inaction by parents and their accounts about teachers which either disrupt or reinforce dominant practices that pertain. We advocate hooks’ concept of engaged pedagogy to challenge current practices underpinned by neo-liberal assumptions.

Encounters with diversity: Children’s friendships and parental responses

“…By putting these individual pictures and conversations together, we created maps of the social relations across the entire class in each school. The children were very enthusiastic about speaking with us, although we are aware that not all children would be willing to ‘own’ peer conflict in a discussion with adults (George and Clay, 2013). Thirty-four of their parents were also interviewed, using interpreters where necessary, about their understanding and management of, and desires for, their child’s friendships.…”

Children’s friendships in diverse primary schools: teachers and the processes of policy enactment

“…All the three schools still used the SEAL materials, in a piecemeal fashion, as their source for work on friendships. Now the focus on PSHE/SEL may return, with an increased emphasis on schools' role in fostering children's 'emotional literacy' (Ecclestone and Lewis 2014;George and Clay 2013). In May 2015, the Department for Education announced 14 projects, including rugby coaching and first aid, that will receive funding through the Department for Education's £3.5 million character grants scheme.…”

“…Despite genuine concern over the children's well being, in practice, with a crowded timetable, disputes -a sign of the unruly nature of friendship -were also seen as annoying distractions for the class teachers. They were very clearly operating under pressure in a system that ranks primary schools by the results of national tests taken by children in their last year of primary school (also George & Clay 2013). Although the case study classes were two years away from these tests, ensuring the children met targets was of utmost importance.…”