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Learning from the Margins: Young Women, Social Exclusion and Education
This collection of ground-breaking international essays address the educational, social, work and biographical experiences of young women who are routinely constructed as ‘at risk’ and on the margins. Drawing on research from an international range of scholars, this book brings together important new perspectives on the gendered dimensions of social exclusion and educational marginalisation. It offers practitioners as well as researchers insights into how to ‘research’ social marginalisation and reflections on projects and programmes that have attempted to do so. Chapters investigate key topics such Provocative and insightful, this book will make interesting reading to students and post-graduate students of education, youth studies, gender studies, sociology and social work.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published April 19, 2007
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February 4, 2011
I’ve only read a single chapter of this, but it was a particularly interesting chapter. It details some research done on mothers and daughters in an outer suburb (read: poor and disadvantaged) of Melbourne. I’ve been taught by Ms McLeod twice now so I guess that allows me to call her Julie. I can only look on with awe at the remarkable life she must live.
The research was based on a series of interviews with young women and their mothers about the issues related to their education. The mothers generally left school very early, married young, had children young and then lived pretty much a ‘hand-to-mouth’ existence in a depressed suburb with, if anything, diminishing labour opportunities. They wanted something better for their daughters.
The problem is that the mothers had very negative experiences with school. Particularly around issues of respect and being made to feel stupid. As much as they would love for their daughters to stay at school – as much as they might see school as a means for them to get ahead, to have a different life – other things were much more important to them. Not least, that their daughters have good relationships with them and not be made to feel inferior or disrespected. In the balance between education and respect, respect wins out.
The chapter I have read is called, “Generations of Hope” – and this is an intriguing title. I can’t resist mentioning that Pandora’s Box (the opening of which brought all evil things into the world – death, sickness and so on) also contained misplaced hope as the single preventative against universal suicide.
The mothers invest greatly in hope for their daughters. This is something quite different from how middle class families seek to assist their children. Middle class families have some idea of the ‘pathways’ that are available to their children and nudge them towards those particular pathways. For people who have no formal education, no view of the world further than their employment in a suburban supermarket it is almost impossible for them to know what pathways are available to their daughters.
I’ve become very interested in Bourdieu’s ideas of the forms of capital and in particular his ideas of the transmission of social and cultural capital. How cultural and social capital is the great unseen advantage that those (generally also with financial capital) are able to pass on to their children.
'Cheshire Puss,' she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider. 'Come, it's pleased so far,' thought Alice, and she went on. 'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'
'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.
'I don't much care where—' said Alice.
'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
'—so long as I get SOMEWHERE,' Alice added as an explanation.
'Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, 'if you only walk long enough.'
Unfortunately, the cat is wrong. You really do need to have some idea of where you are going. As a young girl in the research says of herself:
“Whereas I want to do something with my life. I don’t want to get married young and have kids young. I want to experience life a bit before I – get a good job and that and I want to have a job – like, not just be a housewife. … Like my mum didn’t really have a chance. – like she had kids and was married by 18 or 19 or whatever and I just want to – before I get stuck with kids or something, I just want to do something.”
And, of course, the problem here is that when one path (the path you don’t want to take) is so clear and detailed and the other path is so vague and uncertain, is it any wonder that so many young women take the well-trodden path, even though they also know they will hate it?
This is a universal issue – we were shown this clip from the wonderful 7 Up series. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w09D-a... and yet again, vague ideas of ‘living a life’ before ‘getting married and having kids’ are never going to be able to beat a clear image of the path you are likely to take. Just like saying, ‘I must not stand on the rake, I must not stand on the rake’ is about the best way to ensure a rake handle smack to the face.
It is one thing to know that options must exist – quite another to know what they are and what it might take to achieve them.
“Another wanted to be a drug and alcohol counsellor, but didn’t know the courses or subjects she needed to take.” And sometimes knowing the destination isn’t enough either…
The research was based on a series of interviews with young women and their mothers about the issues related to their education. The mothers generally left school very early, married young, had children young and then lived pretty much a ‘hand-to-mouth’ existence in a depressed suburb with, if anything, diminishing labour opportunities. They wanted something better for their daughters.
The problem is that the mothers had very negative experiences with school. Particularly around issues of respect and being made to feel stupid. As much as they would love for their daughters to stay at school – as much as they might see school as a means for them to get ahead, to have a different life – other things were much more important to them. Not least, that their daughters have good relationships with them and not be made to feel inferior or disrespected. In the balance between education and respect, respect wins out.
The chapter I have read is called, “Generations of Hope” – and this is an intriguing title. I can’t resist mentioning that Pandora’s Box (the opening of which brought all evil things into the world – death, sickness and so on) also contained misplaced hope as the single preventative against universal suicide.
The mothers invest greatly in hope for their daughters. This is something quite different from how middle class families seek to assist their children. Middle class families have some idea of the ‘pathways’ that are available to their children and nudge them towards those particular pathways. For people who have no formal education, no view of the world further than their employment in a suburban supermarket it is almost impossible for them to know what pathways are available to their daughters.
I’ve become very interested in Bourdieu’s ideas of the forms of capital and in particular his ideas of the transmission of social and cultural capital. How cultural and social capital is the great unseen advantage that those (generally also with financial capital) are able to pass on to their children.
'Cheshire Puss,' she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider. 'Come, it's pleased so far,' thought Alice, and she went on. 'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'
'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.
'I don't much care where—' said Alice.
'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
'—so long as I get SOMEWHERE,' Alice added as an explanation.
'Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, 'if you only walk long enough.'
Unfortunately, the cat is wrong. You really do need to have some idea of where you are going. As a young girl in the research says of herself:
“Whereas I want to do something with my life. I don’t want to get married young and have kids young. I want to experience life a bit before I – get a good job and that and I want to have a job – like, not just be a housewife. … Like my mum didn’t really have a chance. – like she had kids and was married by 18 or 19 or whatever and I just want to – before I get stuck with kids or something, I just want to do something.”
And, of course, the problem here is that when one path (the path you don’t want to take) is so clear and detailed and the other path is so vague and uncertain, is it any wonder that so many young women take the well-trodden path, even though they also know they will hate it?
This is a universal issue – we were shown this clip from the wonderful 7 Up series. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w09D-a... and yet again, vague ideas of ‘living a life’ before ‘getting married and having kids’ are never going to be able to beat a clear image of the path you are likely to take. Just like saying, ‘I must not stand on the rake, I must not stand on the rake’ is about the best way to ensure a rake handle smack to the face.
It is one thing to know that options must exist – quite another to know what they are and what it might take to achieve them.
“Another wanted to be a drug and alcohol counsellor, but didn’t know the courses or subjects she needed to take.” And sometimes knowing the destination isn’t enough either…
Displaying 1 of 1 review