My research has been enriched by the presence of the voices of my friends who were always there to provide a critical voice. Primary education: education as defined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996. Pupil: any person receiving or required to receive education within the meaning of the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996.
Introduction, Background and Problem Statement
In the process, this masks causal factors arising from the larger social, political and organizational mechanics of the school, which are external to girls as individuals (Skrtic, 1987). Much of the research on the construction of gender has focused on adolescent boys and girls (Renold, 2003). Many of the studies that focus on children's construction of gender in primary schools have had a limited focus on children as active constructions of gender – on how children negotiate and resist hegemonic or dominant constructions of gender (Morojele, 2009).
The curriculum therefore represents an important social tool in the maintenance of social order. Ozkazanc and Sayilan (2008) pointed to another dimension of curriculum composition in how the girls in their study viewed education. The school environment can be considered an important role in shaping teaching and learning.
Theoretical Foundations
Hegemonic masculinity refers to the cultural expression of dominant forms of femininity and masculinity that governs and regulates alternative understandings of femininity and masculinity. Harro (2000) argues that children learn gender and become invested in hegemonic forms of femininity and masculinity through a process of learning to be socialized and not to be named – a process in which children are constructed as boys and girls. My research is an attempt to understand how primary school children, both boys and girls, challenge and/or resist the constructive forces of dominant gender identity constructions.
That is, how boys and girls push and/or collaborate with the discursive forces to construct alternative gender identities – the counter-hegemonic struggles – or collaborate with hegemonic masculine and feminine discourses and notions. Singh (1997) argues that children, both boys and girls, have the potential to resist and weather the storms of dominant gender identity constructions. The big question is how this is possible in a society constrained by the tones of the dominant discourse on performing and doing gender.
It is the view of this study not to deny and reject the perpetual life of society's constructed categories assigned to boys and girls, but to seek to address the potential weaknesses of dogmatic understandings of self-evident social and political meaning. what about these realities, as if they were fact, and inevitable (Gergen, 1999, pp.47-48). My study attempts to find an enlarged view of the possible tensions involved in both cases. That is, I seek to trace how boys and girls construct and perform gender in a rural primary school context.
The theoretical framework does not deny the socially constructed categories allocated to boys and girls, but challenges the taken-for-granted meanings attached to these realities as if they were facts, static and inevitable (Gergen, 1999).
Research Methodology and Design
It all centered around what I would call "motherly responsibilities" in terms of patriarchal discourse. So one of the hidden criteria to specialize in foundation teaching was that she had to be female. When the Department of Education took over the school in 1980, the school had five classes.
The decision to include a PL1 teacher in the SMT was based on the feeling that it had the potential to improve the effectiveness of the school. The school's socio-economic ranking is quintile 4, which means that it is considered a relatively well-off school. This was done with the intention of trying to gain access to deeper understandings of what meanings the participants attached to the particular physical and social organization of the school.
After the transect step, the information was used to draw a map of the school; it was the stream and the. The current map represented the current situation of the school as the participants saw it, and the future map represented how the participants would like to see change in the school. Non-participant observations were conducted at different sessions of the school day to observe the behavioral patterns of learners.
That is, showing the understanding of the circumstances of the participants is important when doing feminist research (Davies, 2003). I stated in the most categorical terms possible that my study had nothing to do with the curriculum of the school and that it was not for assessment purposes or any pass and fail for that matter. On the first day of my arrival at the research site, the head of the school could not contain herself when she heard that I was doing a master's research study.
Presentation and Discussion of Findings
Girls are constructing themselves as vulnerable to this situation, as they were aware that the dominant discourse was that boys were more likely to pose as a threat to their safety, largely because of the way boys tend to be socialized. We are not happy that we have to be the only ones cleaning the toilets and yet we all use them. I spoke to one of the teachers who shared that the teachers at the school encouraged boys and girls to be equal by encouraging boys and girls to clean up the classroom.
From their answers, it was clear that they only cooked because they "didn't have a choice" and that they didn't want to be associated with cooking. We don't want to be like Jerry because he plays with girls and the teachers don't stop him from playing netball.” That is, there was a belief that a certain (often uniform) set was accepted as a measure of standards of femininity and masculinity.
For example, in the case of this study, participants seemed to want to distance themselves from Jerry just because he was perceived to be outside the normative definitions of masculinity and femininity. When asked about their feelings about Jerry, some participants responded that they did not want to be like Jerry. In this school, boys were reported (by some participants) to struggle with their subjects and mostly absent from school.
If this social arrangement continues even when students are at home, both boys and girls can be empowered to take on any task that needs to be done.
Reflections and Implications
Challenging dominant constructions of gender is an up-and-down process, which implies that the act of challenging dominant constructions and definitions raises the question of which of which new forms of hegemonic constructions have developed and which alternative constructions and definitions the act of challenging. gifts for them. Children spend much of their time in school, and thus the school is better able to influence how children negotiate and position themselves within dominant discourses of gender construction and performance. The primary aim was to reveal certain patterns regarding the different ways in which students position themselves in dominant discourses of gender construction and definition.
Although the issue of gender and sexism was still in the mainstream of the national agenda, it did not seem to enrage and engage people in the way that debates about race and racism did. Frankly, the issue of gender and sexism seems to have taken its place on the national agenda for purposes of political correctness. Research to determine the extent to which goals of teacher education (pre-service and in-service) are adapted to ensure that teachers are able to create teaching and learning environments that empower learners to negotiate and respond to dominant constructions of gender.
The issue of schools as sites of gender construction and performance is of national interest in any country that is committed to treating all its citizens equally and equitably. The present study was an exploration of students' responses to dominant constructions and definitions of gender. Findings revealed a mixed set of responses where participants were challenging and collaborating with dominant constructions of gender.
African government should strengthen its attention to the function of schools as social sites that have a potential to produce and reproduce hegemonic and/or alternative constructions of gender.
If you don't kiss me, you're dumped”: Boys, boyfriends and heterosexualized masculinity in the primary schools. Girls, boys and junior sexualities: Exploring children's gender and sexual relationships in primary school. Informed consent letter to the parent or guardian for the child to participate in the research study.
I am a student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal doing a Master of Education (Social Justice Education) at the Pietermaritzburg campus. Please note that your child's name will not be disclosed or included in any report or documents relating to this study. Statement of Informed Consent from Parents/Guardians. parents' full names) I hereby confirm that I understand the content of this document and the nature of the research project and agree that my child participates in the research project.
As an ethical consideration, I need permission from both the principal and the school governing body to conduct research at your school. The reason for choosing both the school and the participants is due to accessibility and relevance to the purpose of my study. Anonymity and confidentiality of the participants will be protected at all times, and all information that has the potential to identify them will be removed or changed.
Declaration of consent from the school's governing body. name of the representative of the governing body of the school) hereby confirm that I understand the nature of this research project and allow Mrs. Millicent N.
