angwin-onceyougetinto-2001.pdf (65.76 kB)
Once you get into the box you can't get out : Schools managing at risk students and their post-school options
conference contribution
posted on 2001-01-01, 00:00 authored by Jennifer Angwin, G Shacklock, Jillian BlackmoreJillian BlackmoreThis paper explores student and teacher understandings of what it means to be 'at risk' in a Northern metropolitan Melbourne school located in the area of high cultural diversity and unemployment. The research team undertook a range of interviews with 20 Year 10 students and their teachers as part of a research project investigating teacher and student attitudes to the role of the school in how at risk young people understand their futures. Drawing on Bourdieu's notion of habitus for a conceptual framework, we describe three 'anecdotal cases’ that exemplify the 'static' nature of the relations between the school, the teachers, the students and the community. The cases highlight the following paradoxes: (i) a teacher discourse of care that fails to address student motivation and attempts to change; (ii) a lack of agency for both teachers and students when dealing with at risk categories and attempts to best manage post school options; and (iii) the apparent alienation from the school of parents in an otherwise cohesive local community. These tensions were manifestations of staff composition and dynamics, cultural attitudes, and a limited sense of location that worked against resilience, mobility and capacity building for the students.
History
Event
Australian Association for Research in Education. Conference (2001 : Fremantle, W.A.)Publisher
Australian Association for Research in EducationLocation
Fremantle, W.A.Place of publication
Coldstream, Vic.Start date
2001-12-02End date
2001-12-06ISSN
1324-9339Language
engNotes
Reproduced with the specific permission of the copyright owner.Publication classification
E1.1 Full written paper - refereedCopyright notice
2001, AAREEditor/Contributor(s)
W Shilton, R JeffreyTitle of proceedings
AARE 2001 : Crossing borders : New frontiers in educational research : Australian Association for Research in Education conference proceedingsUsage metrics
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