Relationships and Processes in School: Racism, Gender Identities and Young Children

Question 1

What was Connolly’s (1998) study of primary-school children?

Answer 1

• The research was based on the study of 3 classes of 5-6 year olds in a multi-ethnic inner-city primary school.
• It used observation, interviews with parents, staff and governors, and group interviews with the children.
• Connolly looked at how factors both inside and outside of school help to shape the identities of girls and boys from different ethnic groups.

Question 2

What did this study emphasise?

Answer 2

Connolly’s 1998 study of primary-school children emphasises the diverse influences on the way that gender and ethnic identities are formed by factors inside and outside of school.

Question 3

How were Black boys treated by teachers and how did teachers feel about them?

Answer 3

• Teachers were more willing to criticise the behaviour of Black boys than that of other groups.
• They felt some of the Black males in the school were in danger of growing up to be violent criminals → saw them as a threat to school discipline.
• However, they also took positive steps to encourage them to participate in school activities, such as football.

Question 4

How did the boys’ feelings towards school help to shape their identity?

Answer 4

• The boys brought their own values and attitudes to school → for example, those relating to masculinity.
• These contributed to their sense of identity and helped build a sense of loyalty to their peer groups.

Question 5

What sort of lifestyle were Asian people seen to have in comparison to other ethnic minorities?

Answer 5

In the local community and in the school, non-Asians tended to see the Asian community as having a more distinctive lifestyle than the Black community, as well as being more law-abiding and conformist than other ethnic minorities.

Question 6

How were South Asian boys seen by teachers and why were they seen that way?

Answer 6

• Some teachers contrasted what they saw as the close and supportive Asian families with the high rates of single parenthood amongst other groups in the area.
• Partly for these reasons, South Asian boys tended to be seen by teachers as immature rather than seriously deviant.

Question 7

Why did South Asian boys have difficulties in gaining status as males?

Answer 7

• It was common for other boys who wanted to assert their masculinity to pick on South Asian boys.
• The South Asian boys had difficulty in gaining status as males - this made it difficult for them to feel confident at school.

Question 8

How were South Asian girls seen by other pupils in relation to education and who argues against this?

Answer 8

• South Asian girls were seen by other pupils to be even more obedient and hard-working than South Asian boys.
• Although, Connolly’s observations showed that their attitude to work was not that different from that of other female groups.

Question 9

What were South Asian girls’ values and attitudes towards school?

Answer 9

Some were diligent and hard-working, while others were less conscientious, and some were quite disruptive and uncooperative.

Question 10

Overall, how did peers view South Asian girls?

Answer 10

• South Asian girls had a relatively low status among their peers.
• They were seen as feminine in terms of their passivity and obedience, but were not seen as potential girlfriends by Black and White boys because their culture was considered too alien.
• However, they enjoyed high status for their academic ability.