Practising gender : the production of identity by school children

The thesis utilises ‘practice theory’ to argue that the self is not only an effect of social practices but also a technique for action and develops an alternative way of explicating and conceptualising the constitution of the self within the micro-practices of routine, everyday life. This is in contrast to a general tendency within ‘practice theory’, ‘constructionist’ and ‘discursive’ approaches towards a determinist conception of the self. The thesis explores this conceptual framework in fieldwork focussed on formation and production of gender-identity among young school children and offers a new perspective of gender-identity in the classroom. The thesis provides a fourfold contribution: (1) It provides insights into how in the classroom, children take up (conventional) gender differentiated conduct and dispositions in order to forge both their identity and the establishment of a social order based on gender. This gender order is not simply imposed on them by teachers but is actively constructed by the children. The thesis provides insights into how the children in the classroom seize and appropriate the practices of gender for their own ends. These ends, I argue, are the construction of their gender-identity, and the establishment and maintenance of a ‘matrix of intelligibility’. (2) It offers a close-up illustration of how gender construction is negotiated and contested between girls and boys. This is characterised as largely a struggle for enablement — the power to be and to do — rather than as a struggle of one gender over another. (3) It develops an analysis of classrooms as productive sites, as ‘complex strategical situations’ in which the participating agents — the teachers and students—deploy and utilise available resources in their ongoing construction of the world. This suggests that that the social world is not as unitary and totalising as ‘constraint perspectives’ within practice theory often imply. (4) It proposes methodological perspectives and strategies for researching empirically the day-to-day production of gender and for capturing that complex and often elusive process ‘in flight’. It shows the value of an ‘ascending analysis’, one that does not foreclose findings on the basis of a pre-existing theoretical position, and the rich potential of ‘flashpoints’ as a way of illuminating ongoing and often ‘unremarkable’ and therefore unnoticed practices of gender production. The theoretical terrain explored a range of theorists on the self not usually brought together, including Butler, Rose, Foucault, Giddens and Garfinkel and Schatzki. These theorists share in common the perspective that social practices rather than the agent or social totality are the ontological basis of the social world. It is argued that the self is constituted in its enactment and the thesis pursues Foucault’s (2002) question of how the self participates in its own subjectification. The empirical focus of the thesis examined the activities of children at school for insights into how they participated in the making of their gender-identity. The research addressed the questions: (1) To what extent do children construct their gender-identity and what kinds of encouragement do they receive for this? (2) To what extent did the children seem to be appropriating gender practices and inciting the making of gender-identity in the classroom? (3) To what extent can the classroom be viewed as a site of gender contestation and borderwork? Using the concept of ‘flashpoints’, — significant or poignant moments in the classroom — classroom activities were observed to catch gender-identity production ‘in flight’ and to describe how the children seize upon moments to make gender salient. Year Three children in five classrooms in two Victorian schools were observed during English communication and literacy lessons. Individual interviews with teachers in the participating schools and group interviews with the children from the classrooms were undertaken to amplify the observations. Much of the children’s behaviour can be interpreted as their efforts to make gender salient in social interactions. Gender-identity production and gender ‘border work’ (Thorne, 1993) and contestation appeared to be a major activity and preoccupation of the children, even in the face of teacher’s attempts to encourage a gender-neutral environment The children were often more active than the teachers in imposing the ‘gender agenda’ identified by Evans (1988). Overall, this thesis contributes to the development of the theory of subjectivity and identity formation. Social practices are not imposed and individuals seize upon social practices to further their own ends. It is through these routine, everyday activities that social practices are reproduced. The study provides an avenue for understanding the actions of children and the operation of gender power and border work within the classroom.

Gender and national identity : the people's theatre in the Philippines (1967-2000)

The Philippine Education Theater Association (PETA), the People’s Theatre in the Philippines was founded within the bounds of the nationalist leftist tradition. Its origin therefore determines to a great extent the contours of the discourse on the feminist movement in the Philippines, its participation within the cultural movement and the founding years of the pioneering People’s Theatre in the country. As a grass roots theatre from a Third World nation, the PETA theatre model responded to the needs in raising socio-political and economic consciousness and can therefore serve as an alternative tool to formal education for other Third World countries. This thesis argues, the People’s Theatre development is determined within the matrix of gender, class, politics and the nationalist movement to which it is intertwined or inextricably linked. The feminist, nationalist and radical movements have become superimposed upon the history of the People’s Theatre and have nurtured its development as a consciousness raising educational tool.

Gender and genre : a case study of a girl and a boy learning to write

This study addresses questions of gender and genre in early writing by drawing on systemic linguistic theory, It is a longitudinal case study that compares the writing development of two children, a boy and a girl/ who learned to write in classrooms that adopted an approach to writing known in Australia as 'process writing1, The children's written texts were analysed using the systemic functional grammar as developed by MAK, Hallidey and the models of genre and register as proposed by J,R, Martin. The children were followed for the first two and a half years of their schooling, from the first day of kindergarten to the middle of grade two. They were observed weekly during the daily ‘writing time’ and all texts were collected. Although the children were ostensibly 'free’ to determine both the writing topics and text types they produced, systemic analysis revealed that: 1) the majority of texts written were of one genre, the Observation genre, in which the children reconstructed their personal experience with family and friends and offered an evaluation of it. 2) a significant pattern of gender differences occurred within this genre, such that the boy reconstructed experience in terms of the male cultural stereotype of being an active participant in the world, while the girl reconstructed experience in terms of the female stereotype of being a more passive observer of experience. It is the strength of systemic linguistic analysis that it revealed how the choices the children made in language were constrained by a number of social and cultural contexts, including: a) the teacher's theoretical orientation to literacy; b) the models of spoken and written language available to the children; and c) the ideology of gender in the culture. In particular, the analysis made visible how children appropriate the meanings of their culture and socialise themselves into gender roles by constructing the ideology of gender in their writing. The study contributes to an understanding of genres by offering a revised description of the Observation genre, which derives from the Observation Comment genre originally identified by Martin and Rothery (1981). It also raises a number of implications for teacher training and classroom practice, including the need for: 1) increased teacher consciousness about gender and genre, especially an understanding that choices in language are socially constructed 2) a critical reassessment of the notion of 'free topic choice’ promoted by 'process writing' pedagogy, a practice which may limit choice and tacitly support the gender status quo.

Factors affecting the career progress of academic accountants in Australia : cross-institutional and gender perspectives

Since the late 1980s, Australian highereducation has undergone significant reforms andpolicy changes based on economic rationalismand modernisation of management. This paperexamines the outcomes of the reform processesbased on the career attributes, status andperceptions of work environment of academicaccountants in Australian universities.Similarities and differences between academicaccountants are explored fromcross-institutional and gender perspectives.The data provide insight into a number ofsystemic inequalities between the older andmore established universities and the neweruniversities. In specific, across-institutional analysis based on fouruniversity types: Sandstones/Redbricks,Gumtrees, Unitechs and New (Marginson 1999)indicates that academic accountants in Newuniversities employ a much lower proportion ofstaff with PhD qualification, a weakerpublication profile, and perceive greaterbarriers for conducting research in terms of ashortage of research mentors, colleagues withresearch experience, and post-graduatestudents. Further, the commitment to flexiblelearning and delivery strategies iscomparatively stronger in Unitechs, and posesadditional demands on accounting academics'overall workload. Perceptions of gender-baseddiscrimination by female academic accountantsare generally stronger than their malecounterparts, particularly, in Newuniversities. These results raise severalissues for academic accountants at both theinstitutional and individual level in terms ofequal employment opportunities, management ofresearch programmes, development of teachingstrategies and individual time management.

International development : issues and challenges

This book introduces the key contemporary issues in the theory, practice and study of development, from economic growth, good governance and globalization to gender, security and the environment. It builds on the authors' extensive practical experience to offer a systematic assessment of the field and identify characteristics of successful development. Arguing that there can be no development without poverty reduction and the involvement of all key stakeholders, the authors show why it is important not only that the policies are right but that the right people are involved. Failure to do so leads on the one hand to aid fatigue, and on the other to distorted development, no development at all, or even negative development.

Does gender inequality reduce growth in sub-Saharan African and Arab countries?

This paper uses 1974 to 2001 panel data for 31 sub-Saharan African and 10 Arab countries and Arellano–Bond estimations to empirically assess the impact on growth of an important indicator associated with MDG 3; namely the ratio of 15–24-year-old literate females to males. Our findings indicate that gender inequalities in literacy have a statistically significant negative effect that is robust to changes in the specification. In addition, it seems that gender inequality has a stronger effect on growth in Arab countries. Interestingly, we find that the interaction between openness to trade and gender inequality has a positive impact. This result suggests that trade-induced growth may be accompanied by greater gender inequalities.

Differentiating three conceptualisations of the relationship between positive development and psychopathology during the transition to adulthood

The transition to adulthood is characterised by both great potential for positive change and a relatively high incidence of problem outcomes. A multidimensional model of positive development during the transition to adulthood (at 19-20 years) has recently been proposed. However, an unresolved question regarding the nature of positive development during this time is how best to conceptualise its relationship to psychopathology. We drew on data from 1158 participants in the Australian Temperament Project, a large longitudinal community-based study that has followed young people's psychosocial adjustment from infancy to early adulthood. Using structural equation modelling, we compared three models reflecting different conceptualisations of the relationship between positive development and psychopathology. The results suggest that positive development and psychopathology are best modelled as separate but correlated constructs. Hence, development in one domain is likely to influence the other, although separate and specific developmental pathways are also likely to be operating.

Predictors of positive development in emerging adulthood

This article responds to recent calls for a focus on successful development in young people and examination of its developmental precursors, in order to identify potentially modifiable targets for interventions. The current study examined child and adolescent precursors of positive functioning in emerging adulthood, including individual characteristics, relationship factors, and connections to the community, using a multidimensional positive development measure at 19–20 years. The sample consisted of 511 males and 647 females who were participants in the Australian Temperament Project, a population based longitudinal study that has followed young people's psychosocial adjustment from infancy to early adulthood. Higher levels of positive development in emerging adulthood were associated with stronger family and peer relationships, better adjustment to the school setting, higher family socioeconomic status, and better emotional control. Some significant gender differences were observed, with emotional control, family relationships, and community orientation all being stronger predictors of males' than of females' positive development. The findings provide possible targets for child and adolescent interventions to promote positive development in early adulthood.

Gender differences in the impact of families on alcohol use : a lagged longitudinal study of early adolescents

Aims From the pre-teen to the mid-teen years, rates of alcohol use and misuse increase rapidly. Cross-sectional research shows that positive family emotional climate (low conflict, high closeness) is protective, and there is emerging evidence that these protective mechanisms are different for girls versus boys. The aim of this study was to explore gender differences in the longitudinal impact of family emotional climate on adolescent alcohol use and exposure to peer drinking networks.

Design Three-wave two-level (individual, within-individual over time) ordinal logistic regression with alcohol use in the past year as the dependent measure and family variables lagged by 1 year.

Setting Adolescents completed surveys during school hours.

Participants A total of 855 Australian students (modal age 10–11 years at baseline) participating in the International Youth Development Study (Victoria, Australia).

Measurements These included emotional closeness to mother/father, family conflict, parent disapproval of alcohol use and peer alcohol use.

Findings For girls, the effect of emotional closeness to mothers on alcohol use was mediated by exposure to high-risk peer networks. Parent disapproval of alcohol use was protective for both genders, but this effect was larger for boys versus girls, and there was no evidence that peer use mediated this effect. Peer drinking networks showed stronger direct risk effects than family variables.

Conclusions Family factors unidirectionally impact on growth in adolescent alcohol use and effects vary with child gender.

Gender mainstreaming in Islamic primary schools in South Sulawesi, Indonesia : a textbook analysis

Gender mainstreaming is a strategy employed to achieve gender equality and equity by considering the experiences, aspirations, needs and problems of women and men in the process of planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating all policies and programs of various sectors of social development (Ministry of Women's Empowerment Republic of Indonesia 2000). The government has undertaken activities including working with publishers in 2004 to address gender bias in textbooks. Various studies informed the analytic framework for this study of gender role depictions in Islamic primary school textbooks in South Sulawesi. Islamic primary schools in South Sulawesi were chosen for two reasons. The first reason was personal interest. The second reason was that a textbook analysis has not been completed since the implementation of the textbook writing program and it would be appropriate to conduct such a study in a province where gender mainstreaming is likely to challenge local ethnic culture and orthodox Islamic teaching. South Sulawesi provides such a context.

The violence of gender : Australian policy responses to violence

This thesis engages in critical policy analysis to examine the ways in which violence is problematised in social policy. The extent to which (policy) constructions of violence reflect and reinforce gender(ed) discourses, as manifest in the naming of some violence(s) as ‘problem violences’ and not others, represents a key finding of this thesis.

The business of sexuality education : changing practice : the need for professional development

This paper reports on data collected from practicing sexuality education teachers following their participation in professional learning intervention in sexuality education. It explores whether the provision of effective professional development and classroom resources enables teachers to effectively address the sensitive issues of sexual diversity, gender and power.

The contribution of creativity to human development in a new nation: a case study of Afalyca community art centre, Timor-Leste

This article describes the contribution of creativity to human development in the new nation of Timor-Leste, exemplified in a case study of community art centre Afalyca. By taking a creative approach to the challenges of life in his developing country, the young leader of this enterprise, Marqy da Costa, is realising his own potential more fully and offering enriching experiences to others. The impact of his centre on a range of stakeholders, including staff, participants and the wider community is discussed. For participants, the outcomes of their involvement include enjoyable opportunities for creative expression; valued recognition from national and international audiences; the broadening of life experience to encompass new possibilities for self-actualisation; skill development and income from employment and sales.

The factors that have contributed to Afalcya's creative achievements are examined. These include inspiration and assistance received from organisations and individuals in and outside of Timor, family support, and the age and gender of leaders. Also significant are founder Marqy's personal characteristics of artistic talent, social and language skills, love of learning, persistence and conciliatory approach to conflict. Barriers to the realisation of Afalcya's potential include lack of systemic recognition of the value of creativity for sustainable development, unsupportive bureaucracy and gender related restrictions of participation for women. The potential for similar initiatives to contribute to a positive future for Timorese people is explored.

Quo vadis, Delhi? Urban heritage and gender: towards a sustainable urban future

Historic architectural heritage is important to sustainable urban planning policy, particularly in cities that have heritage sites and/or themselves have ancient archaeological value. Delhi is one of the oldest living cities in the world. However, the vision of its planning policy is limited to valuing heritage for itself and for its economic value instead of also exploring the ways in the city’s heritage might contribute to the social organisation and utilisation of the urban public space. Particularly, like most national policy documents on heritage, it ignores the heritage/gender nexus, which has implications for the identity and status of women in Delhi, community development and ecological preservation. But twenty women practioners and scholars of development in Delhi referred to heritage as a challenge as well as opportunity for gender and urban sustainability when asked for their perspectives on the most important sustainability issues in the city. I argue that Delhi’s urban planning strategies must acknowledge the gender/heritage nexus to enable holistic and gender-inclusive urban development for the present and future generations of its citizens, which is an important thrust of the sustainability agenda.

Does gender matter? A one year follow-up of autistic, attention and anxiety symptoms in high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder

Gender differences in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms and associated problem behaviours over development may provide clues regarding why more males than females are diagnosed with ASD. Fifty-six high-functioning children with ASD, and 44 typically developing controls, half of the participants female, were assessed at baseline (aged 7–12 years) and one-year later, collecting measures of autism, attention and anxiety symptoms, school placement and support information. Findings indicated no gender differences in autistic symptoms. Males were more hyperactive and received more integration-aide support in mainstream schools, and females were more socially anxious. Overall, similar gender profiles were present across two time points. Lower hyperactivity levels in females might contribute to their under-identification. Implications are discussed using a biopsychosocial model of gender difference.