This paper examines how high levels of social-cultural connectedness and academic excellence, inflected by gender and social class, constitute a particular school habitus of "assured optimism" at an elite Scottish girls' school. In Bourdieuian terms, Dalrymple is a "forcing ground" for the "intense cultivation"…

Privileged benefaction in elite schools and the moral dilemmas, contradictions and power politics involved are the focus of this paper. The notion of "the gift" provides our analytical lens. We concentrate on two girls' schools--one in South Africa and one in England. These were both built, in various ways, on the British model of…

In this paper we offer a unique contribution to understandings of schooling as a site for the production of social class difference. We bring together the rich body of work that has been conducted on middle-class educational identities, with explorations of the centrality of the feminine in representations of class difference from the field of…

The long-standing relationship between social disadvantage and poor educational outcomes continues to preoccupy educational policy-makers, with teachers at the front line of the ongoing struggle. Across the range of equity concerns, gender may be noted as either qualifying disadvantage or compounding it, but the meaning of gender as a simple…

This article focuses on the concerns expressed by three female Muslim educators who are support staff at an English comprehensive school. Consistent with the debates associated with multiculturalism, group rights and feminism, the article illuminates spaces of gender constraint and possibility within the discourses shaping these women's lives…

This article is about the educational work of governesses on Australia's remote cattle and sheep stations. These stations occupy vast tracts of land in the outback, and form part of global food supply chains exporting meat to countries around the world. The article explores the nature of governesses' work, the boundaries they negotiate…

In this paper we examine the factors contributing to gender inequality in secondary schooling in India by critically reviewing the government's secondary education policy. Drawing on the findings of a study in rural Gujarat, we couple this analysis with an examination of the gendered dynamics that restrict girls' ability to fully benefit…

Based on surveys undertaken by the Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (France's National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies) and by the Direction de l'évaluation de la prospective et de la performance (Directorate of Evaluation, Forecasting and Performance), this article examines the evolution of…

This article presents a review of "Making socialists: Mary Bridges Adams and the fight for knowledge and power, 1855-1939," by Jane Martin. Jane Martin has explored the history of late-nineteenth-century and early-twentieth century-British women educational activists in numerous publications over the past two decades. Her first book, "Women and…

The prevalence of women in the teaching profession has been claimed by various scholars to be responsible for the low school performance among boys. Based on this claim there have been widespread calls for increasing the share of male teachers as a means of improving boys' school performance. There is, however, very little empirical evidence…

Referring to the experiences of three Muslim refugee girls recently settled in Australia, this paper examines issues of schooling and empowerment. The paper draws on teacher and student interview data from a study that investigated inclusive approaches to addressing issues of cultural diversity in a secondary state high school in Queensland. The…

The South Asian diaspora and its impact on the lives of dispersed communities is a complex phenomenon finding expression in a range of issues and debates. However, the nature and scale of the challenges and issues vary in each case and context, and even over generations. These issues become more sensitive and poignant when underpinned by cultural…

This article presents a review of Dennis Marsden's work. Looking at his oeuvre overall it is the family and intimate social relations and social class that are at the centre of his interests and analytical focus. Part of the power and effectiveness of his work was an ability to see families and their everyday lives in relation to social policy and…

This paper explores Indian women's views on arranged marriages in the United Kingdom. It is based on research carried out with 32 Indian women studying at a university in the South East of England, UK. The article draws on Wenger's social theory of learning to explore how Indian women's participation in communities of practice in higher education…

Conceptualizations of the self in relation to others are examined among a group of young women attending a fee-paying school in England. As part of a larger study exploring intimacy and agency among young women from relatively privileged class backgrounds, 54 young women participated in focus group discussions and interviews. Findings reveal that…