Skip to main content

Discourses on Gender and Achievement in Lower Secondary Education

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
  • 368 Accesses

Part of the book series: Education Dialogues with/in the Global South ((EDGS))

Abstract

This chapter takes as a starting point gender differences in school achievement in Sweden and other Nordic countries, and what is communicated about the differences in teaching. It is based on a study that explored understandi ngs of gender and achievement in various educational settings and local contexts . This was researched by means of classroom and school observ ations as well as interviews with 9th grade students in nine classes from different schools, in various urban and rural areas. Some of the theme s that emerged with regard to the gender differences were the governance by marks and tests, the gendered discourses on performance, work and talent , groups’ resources for academic positioning, the importance of local contexts and the significance of socio-economic relations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The article reports from the research project ‘Achievement and gender. On teaching, youth groups and local conditions’, that was funded by the Swedish Research Council 2011–2013 (VR 2010–4869).

References

  • Aasebø, T. S. (2008). Kjønnede kunnskapsforhandlinger i klasserommet. [Gendered Knowledge Negotiations in the Classroom]. Dansk Pædagogisk Tidsskrift, 56(2), 36–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Abraham, J. (2008). Back to the Future on Gender and Anti-school Boys: A Response to Jeffrey Smith. Gender and Education, 20(1), 89–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnesen, A.-L., Lahelma, E., & Öhrn, E. (2008). Travelling Discourses on Gender and Education. The Case of Boys’ Underachievement. Nordisk Pedagogik, 28(1), 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnot, M. (2004). Male Working-class Identities and Social Justice. In N. Dolby & G. Dimitriadis with P. Willis (Eds.), Learning to Labor in New Times (pp. 15–34). New York: RoutledgeFalmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asp-Onsjö, L., & Holm, A.-S. (2014). Governance by Marks—An Ethnographic Study of School Achievements and Gender. In A.-L. Arnesen, E. Lahelma, L. Lundahl, & E. Öhrn (Eds.), Fair and Competitive? Critical Perspectives on Contemporary Nordic Schooling (pp. 61–81). London: The Tufnell Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asp-Onsjö, L., & Öhrn, E. (2015). To Pass the Test: The Timing of Boys’ Parallel Positioning. Education Inquiry, 6(2), 141–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ball, S. (2001). Performativity and Fragmentation in ”Postmodern Schooling”. In J. Carter (Ed.), Postmodernity and the Fragmentation of Welfare (E-library ed., pp. 187–203). Routledge: Taylor and Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berggren, I. (2001). Identitet, kön och klass: Hur arbetarflickor formar sin identitet. [Identity, Gender and Class. How Working Class Girls Shape Their Identity].Thesis. Gothenburg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlgren, I., Klette, K., Mýrdal, S., Schnack, K., & Simola, H. (2006). Changes in Nordic Teaching Practice: From Individualised Teaching to the Teaching of Individuals. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 50(3), 301–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connell, R. W. (1996). Teaching the Boys: New Research on Masculinity and Gender Strategies for Schools. Teachers College Records, 98(2), 206–235.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connell, R. W., & Messerschmidt, J. W. (2005). Hegemonic Masculinity. Rethinking the Concept. Gender and Society, 19(6), 829–859.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalland, C. P. (2014). Elevaktive arbeidsformer. Hvordan påvirker arbetidsplaner og muntlige framføringer elevers strategier i klasserommet? [Student-centered Teaching Methods: How Do the Use of Work Plans and Oral Presentations Affect Students’ Use of Strategies?]. Thesis. Institutt for pedagogikk, University of Oslo.

    Google Scholar 

  • Damber, U. (2010). Reading for Life. Three Studies of Swedish Students’ Reading Development. Thesis. Linköpings universitet.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dweck, C. S. (2009). Can We Make Our Students Smarter? Education Canada, 49(4), 56–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, D. (1998). Real Boys Don’t Work: ’Underachievement’, Masculinity and the Harassment of ’Sissies’. In D. Epstein, J. Elwood, V. Hey, & J. Maw (Eds.), Failing Obys? Issues in Gender and Achievement (pp. 96–108). Buckingham: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Francis, B. (2009). The Role of The Boffin as Abject Other in Gendred Performances of School Achievement. The Sociological Review, 57(4), 645–669.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, T., Holland, J., & Lahelma, E. (2000). Friends or Foes? Interpreting Relations Between Girls in School. In G. Walford & C. Hudson (Eds.), Genders and Sexualities in Educational Ethnography. Greenwich, Connecticut: JAI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gustafsson, J. (2014a). The Successful Boys. In A. Rasmussen, J. Gustafsson, & B. Jeffrey (Eds.), Performativity in Education: An International Collection of Ethnographic Research on Learners Experiences (pp. 239–258). New Cottage, Painswick, Stroud, Gloucestershire: E&E Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gustafsson, J. (2014b). De framgångsrika pojkarna. [The Successful Boys]. In E. Öhrn & A.-S. Holm (Eds.), Att lyckas i skolan. Om skolprestationer och kön i olika undervisningspraktiker. [To Succeed in School. On School Achievement and Gender in Different Educational Practices] (pp. 127–147). Göteborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gustafsson, J., & Öhrn, E. (2012). Gender, Achievement and Place: Boys and Masculinities in a Rural Area. Paper presented at A are, Sydney Australia, 2–6 December.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haywood, C., & Mac an Ghaill, M. (2013). Education and Masculinities. Social, Cultural and Global Transformations. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holm, A.-S. (2008). Relationer i skolan—en studie av femininiteter och maskuliniteter i år 9. [Relations in School. A Study of Femininities and Masculinities in the 9th grade]. Thesis. Gothenburg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holm, A.-S. (2010). Gender Patterns and Student Agency: Secondary Schoolstudents’ Perceptions Over Time. European Educational Research Journal, 9(2), 257–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holm, A.-S. (2014). Playing the Class Room Game. A Study of Performativity, Fabrication and Gender in Secondary School. In A. Rasmussen, J. Gustafsson, & B. Jeffrey (Eds.), Performativity in Education. An International Collection of Ethnographic Research on Learners’ Experiences (pp. 259–281). New Cottage, Painswick, Stroud, Gloucestershire: E&E Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holm, A.-S., & Öhrn, E. (2014). Diskurser om prestationer, begåvning och arbete. [Discourses of Achievement, Talent and Work]. In E. Öhrn & A.-S. Holm (Eds.), Att lyckas i skolan. Om skolprestationer och kön i olika undervisningspraktiker (pp. 79–101). Göteborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, C. (2002). ‘Laddishness’ as a Self-worth Protection Strategy. Gender and education, 14(1), 37–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeffrey, B., & Troman, G. (2004). Time for Ethnography. British Journal of Educational Research, 30(4), 535–548.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimmel, M. (2010). Pojkar och skolan: ett bakgrundsdokument om “pojkkrisen”. [Boys and School: A Background Paper on “boy crisis”]. Stockholm: Fritzes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kryger, N. (1990). Drengepædagogik? [A Pedagogy for Boys?]. In H. Jacobsen & L. Højgaard (Eds.), Skolen er køn (pp. 81–97). Copenhagen: Ligestillingsrådet.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lahelma, E., & Öhrn, E. (2003). Strong Nordic Women in the Making? Gender Policies and Classroom Practices. In D. Beach, T. Gordon, & E. Lahelma (Eds.), Democratic Education: Ethnographic Challenges (pp. 39–51). London: The Tufnell Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lahelma, E., & Öhrn, E. (2011). Skola och kön. [Shooling and Gender]. In S.-E. Hansén & L. Forsman (Eds.), Allmändidaktik—vetenskap för lärare (pp. 115–131). Lund: Studentlitteratur.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martino, W. (1999). ‘Cool Boys’, ‘Party Animals’, ‘Squids’ and ‘Poofters’: Interrogating the Dynamics and Politics of Adolescent Masculinities in School. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 20(2), 247–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDowell, L. (2000). The Trouble with Men? Young People, Gender Transformations and the Crisis of Masculinity. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 24(1), 201–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nyström, A.-S. (2012). Att synas och lära utan att synas lära: En studie om underprestation och privilegierade unga mäns identitetsförhandlingar i gymnasieskolan. [To be Seen and to Learn, Without Being Seen to Learn. A Study of Under-Achievement and Identity-Negotiation Among Privileged Young Men in Upper-Secondary School]. Thesis. Uppsala university.

    Google Scholar 

  • Öhrn, E. (2000). Changing Patterns? Reflections on Contemporary Swedish Research and Debate on Gender and Education. N ora , 8(3), 128–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Öhrn, E. (2009). Challenging Sexism? Gender and Ethnicity in the Secondary School. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 53(6), 579–590.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Öhrn, E. (2011). Class and Ethnicity at Work. Segregation and Conflict in a Swedish Secondary School. Education Inquiry, 2(2), 345–357.

    Google Scholar 

  • Öhrn, E. (2012). Urban Education and Segregation: The Responses from Young People. European Educational Research Journal, 11(1), 45–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Öhrn, E., & Holm, A.-S. (Eds.) (2014). Att lyckas i skolan. Om skolprestationer och kön i olika undervisningspraktiker. [To Succeed in School. On School Achievement and Gender in Different Educational Practices]. Göteborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Öhrn, E., Lundahl, L., & Beach, D. (Eds.) (2011). Young People’s Influence and Democratic Education. London: The Tufnell Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phoenix, A. (2004). Neoliberalism and Masculinity. Youth and Society, 36(2), 227–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rich, E., & Evans, J. (2009). Now I am NObody, see me for Who I Am: The Paradox of Performativity. Gender and Education, 21(1), 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandell, A. (2007). Utbildningssegregation och självsortering. Om gymnasieval, genus och lokala praktiker. [Segregation and Self-sorting in Eduction: On Choice of Upper Secondary Education, Gender and Local Practices]. Thesis. Malmö University College.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, A. (2013). Pedagogik, plats och prestationer. En etnografisk studie om en skola i förorten. [Pedagogy, Place and Performance. An Ethnographic Study About a School in a Multiculutural Suburb]. Thesis. Gothenburg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sernhede, O. (2007). Territorial Stigmatisation, Hip Hop and Informal Schooling. In W. T. Pink & G. W. Noblit (Eds.), International Handbook of Urban Education (pp. 463–479). Dordrecht: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Skeggs, B. (1991). Challenging Masculinity and Using Sexuality. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 12(2), 127–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skelton, C., & Francis, B. (2011). Successful Boys and Literacy: Are “Literate Boys” Challenging or Repackaging Hegemonic Masculinity. Curriculum Inquiry, 41(4), 457–479.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J. (2007). ‘You’ve Got to ‘Ave Balls To Play This Game Sir!’ Boys, Peers and Fears: The Negative Influence of School-Based ‘Cultural Accomplices’ in Constructing Hegemonic Masculinities. Gender and Eduction, 19(2), 179–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sou. (2009):64. Flickor och pojkar i skolanhur jämställt är det? [Boys and Girls in School—What About Equality?] Delbetänkande av Deja-delegationen för jämställdhet i skolan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swedish National Agency for Education. (2006). Equity Trends in the Swedish School System. A Quantitative Analysis of Variation in Student Performance and Equity from a Time Perspective. Report 275. Stockholm: Skolverket.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swedish National Agency for Education. (2009). Vad påverkar resultaten i svensk grundskola? Kunskapsöversikt om betydelsen av olika faktorer. [What Affect the Results in the Swedish Compulsory School? A Review of the Importance of Different Factors]. Sammanfattande analys. Stockholm: Skolverket.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swedish National Agency for Education. (2012). Likvärdig utbildning i svensk grundskola? En kvantitativ analys av likvärdighet över tid. [Equal Education in the Swedish Compulsory School? A Quantitative Analysis of Equality Over Time]. Stockholm: Skolverket.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swedish National Agency for Education. (2013). Det svåra valet. Elevers val av utbildning på olika slags gymnasiemarknader. [The Difficult Choice. Students’ Choice of Education in Different Upper Secondary Markets]. Report 394. Stockholm: Skolverket.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swedish Trade Union Confederation. (2014). Sveriges jämställdhetsbarometer 2014. Tid, makt och pengar. Klass och kön. [Measure of Sweden’s Gender Equality 2014. Time, Power and Money. Class and Gender]. Landsorganisationen i Sverige. Stockholm: LO-tryckeriet.

    Google Scholar 

  • The National Board of Health and Welfare. (2009). Folkhälsorapport 2009. [Public Health Report 2009]. Stockholm: Socialstyrelsen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trondman, M. (Ed.) (1999). Kultursociologi i praktiken. [Cultural Sociology in Practice]. Lund: Studentlitteratur.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weis, L. (1990). Working Class Without Work. High School Students in a De-Industrializing Economy. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willis, P. (1977). Learning to Labour. Farnborough: Saxon House.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elisabet Öhrn .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Öhrn, E., Asp-Onsjö, L., Holm, AS. (2017). Discourses on Gender and Achievement in Lower Secondary Education. In: Kantasalmi, K., Holm, G. (eds) The State, Schooling and Identity. Education Dialogues with/in the Global South. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1515-1_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1515-1_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-1514-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-1515-1

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics