Mothers as educational workers: mothers’ emotional work at their children's transfer to second-level education

Abstract

This paper investigates the phenomenon of mothers' emotional labour in relation to children's transfer from first-to second-level schooling: a time that has been shown to pose significant challenges for students and their families. It seeks to break the silence that surrounds the recognition and production of emotional labour in general, and specifically in relation to education. Drawing on 25 case studies, this research explores in-depth both the extent and nature of emotional work in mothers' daily practices. Against that backdrop it identifies the specific emotional work performed at school transfer. It examines mothers' common experiences in shouldering emotional education work and finds that mothers are key education workers. This research suggests that mothers' lives are shaped by caring labour including education work: labours that are largely unseen but that are inalienable, and demanding on their time and energies.. . . all that is given in exchange for this invisible work, work that is generally done by women, work that gives life its texture, work that weaves tears in the fabric of life in both the public and private spheres back into wholeness, are perfunctory honours and sentimental accolades.

Love Labour as a Distinct and Non-Commodifiable Form of Care Labour

“…Figure 2 below identifies the features of love labour that distinguishes it from both secondary and tertiary care labour. The features identified are not only those that have been observed by a wide range of scholars who have researched the care field (Bubeck, 1995;Finch and Groves, 1983;Harrington-Meyer, 2000;Hochschild, 1989Hochschild, , 2001Kittay, 1999;McKie et al, 2002;O'Brien, 2005;Reay, 2005;Tronto, 1991;Williams, 2004), but also those that have emerged from the findings of the Care Conversations study (noted above). A more complete analysis of this study is forthcoming in (Lynch, Baker, Lyons, Cantillon and Walsh, 2008).…”

“…Caring does not take place in a vacuum; it takes place in a nested set of power, class, gender and global race relations. The moral imperative to undertake care work in all forms is much stronger for women than for men (Bubeck, 1995; O'Brien, 2005). The division of care labour is gendered, classed and raced locally and globally (Tronto, 2002).…”

“…Feminist‐inspired scholars have drawn attention to the salience of care and love as public goods, and have identified the importance of caring as a human capability meeting a basic human need (Nussbaum, 1995a, 1995b, 2000). They have also exposed the limitations of conceptualisations of citizenship devoid of a concept of care, and highlighted the importance of caring as work, work that needs to be rewarded and distributed equally between women and men in particular (Finch and Groves, 1983; Glucksmann, 1995; Hobson, 2000; Hochschild, 1989; O'Brien, 2005; Sevenhuijsen, 1998).…”

Moving to the next school at age 10–14 years: an international review of psychological development at school transition

“…They monitor the situation through continued discussion, weigh up the options available to them for intervention then decide to telephone the school to address the issue. Parents can also reduce risk through physical means, i.e., by providing their child with the correct school equipment and uniform (O'Brien, ). Parents can even reduce risk across the board by carefully selecting a transition school, in the case where their default option is a state school with a history of anti‐social students and poor quality teaching (O'Brien, ).…”

Breaking silence: educating citizens for love, care and solidarity

“…While some have engaged with the issue of emotions in education, the focus has been on the role of emotions in the lives of teachers (Hargreaves, 2000(Hargreaves, , 2001 and of mothers (Reay, 2000;O'Brien, 2005). There is an implicit if not explicit assumption that the development of autonomous rational public citizens remains the core educational project.…”