Discursive Constructions of Boys in the Field of School Social Work in German Elementary Schools

in Boyhood Studies
Author:
Niels Uhlendorf Research Associate, Humboldt University, Germany uhlendon@hu-berlin.de

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3167/bhs.2023.160206
Keywords:
boys in school; elementary schools; school social work; sociology of knowledge; subject discourses; subjectivation
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Abstract

This article analyzes the discursive constructions of boys and strategies for working with them in the field of school social work. Building upon a subjectivation theoretical framework, these discourses are reconstructed based on interviews with social workers at German elementary schools by the SKAD (sociology of knowledge approach to discourse) research program. Three subject positionings were identified: Boys were positioned as (1) caught up in aggression; (2) naturally deviating from school rules; or (3) sitting on the sidelines. Overall, it was observed that school social work primarily focused on norm deviations and transgressions, while a general orientation towards masculinity norms was rarely challenged. This analysis offers insights into the inherent ambivalence of subject discourses on boys in the field of school social work.

Contributor Notes

Niels Uhlendorf, PhD, is a Research Associate (Postdoc) at the Institute of Educational Sciences (Department of Primary Education) of the Humboldt University of Berlin. In his dissertation (published via Springer VS in 2018), he analyzed the “optimization pressure in the context of migration” by relating biographical interviews to public discourses. Currently, his research interests include orders of difference in elementary schools, the role of shame and shaming in the biographies of former students, the professionalization of school social workers, intersectionality in the context of education, and methodologies of subjectivation. Email: uhlendon@hu-berlin.de

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Boyhood Studies

An Interdisciplinary Journal

Cover Boyhood Studies
Article Category:
Research Article
Page Count:
17
Keywords:
boys in school; elementary schools; school social work; sociology of knowledge; subject discourses; subjectivation
Print Publication Date:
01 Dec 2023
Online Publication Date:
01 Dec 2023
Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023

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