Square‐girls', Femininity and the Negotiation of Academic Success in the Primary School

Bibliographic Data

ID11161069
AuthorsE Renold (0000-0001-6472-0224, Cardiff University, corresponding author)
Year2001
Volume27
Issue5
Pages577-588
Publication date2001-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Educational Research Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0141-1926 • E-ISSN: 1469-3518
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01411920120095753
OpenAlexW2023534009
LanguageEN
Citations received36
References cited16

Recent achievement debates in both the media and academic press have focused predominately on the apparent underachievement of boys. The relative ‘high achievement’ of girls has often been perceived as unproblematic and thus neglected, or achieved at the expense of boys. This article redresses the balance by redirecting the research focus to the processes and experiences of girls' academic achievements, particularly the intersection of and relationship between academic success and the construction of femininity. Drawing on data from an ethnographic study of two primary schools, the article traces the stories of four girls who were subordinately positioned as ‘square’ for their rejection of dominant modes of femininity and visible status as high academic achievers. Their experiences illuminate a broader debate on the fear and negativity associated with academic success and the contradiction of being ‘clever’ with being ‘feminine’

Academic achievement · Contradiction · Developmental psychology · Epistemology · Ethnography · Femininity · Negotiation · Normative · Pedagogy · Social science · Sociology · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Psychology · Social Psychology · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

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