Girl Talk: A Qualitative Study of Girls Talking About The Meaning of Their Lives in an Urban Single Sex Elementary School

SMC Author

Sheila Hughes

SMC Affiliated Work

1

Status

Faculty

School

School of Liberal Arts

Department

English

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2016

Publication / Conference / Sponsorship

The Teacher Educator

Description/Abstract

The suburban–urban achievement gap (diminishing until the 1980s) has stopped its narrowing trend, and single-sex schools are proliferating as a reform model, especially in urban areas. In this study researchers interviewed eight elementary school girls (in an all-girls school) three times over 2 years, and the resulting 23 transcripts were analyzed with focused and axial coding. Themes were constructed from these girls' meaning-making, including the challenge of gender stereotypes, an enthusiasm about math, a vision of unlimited futures, a sense of justice and personal ethics in relationships, presence of uncertainties in their lives, their reflections on the “good” teacher, and the strong influence of family belonging. The authors draw implications from the meanings these girls make of their lived experiences to teachers' understanding and classroom practice; and they also connect the themes to contemporary culture, including the field of girls' studies.

Scholarly

yes

DOI

10.1080/08878730.2016.1150753

Volume

51

Issue

2

First Page

97

Last Page

114

Disciplines

Education

Original Citation

Ridenour, C & Hughes, SH. “Girl Talk: A Qualitative Study of Girls Talking About The Meaning of Their Lives in an Urban Single Sex Elementary School.” The Teacher Educator 51.2 (2016): 97-114. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08878730.2016.1150753

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