Det tillåtande och det begränsande. En studie om pojkars syn på studier och ungdomars normer kring maskulinitet

Abstract

Girls preform generally better than boys in school. In many schools the dominant norms of masculinity are a hinder for boys to preform in school. Schools with a dominating “anti school culture” or a “effortless achievement culture” among the boys are examples of this. These norms of masculinity are also a hinder for girls to show their ability in different subjects. The overall aim of the thesis is to study boy’s view on studying and it´s relation to norms of masculinity. It also focuses on the question if the ability to study is gendered. The collecting of data was done through an ethnographic inspired study where 15 group interviews and different kind of observations was used. Two classes, class 9d and 9e, in year nine in a secondary school was followed during a three-month period. Class 9d consisted of 20 pupils (13 girls and 7 boys) and 9e consisted of 19 pupils (9 girls and 10 boys). Around half of the pupils came from a working class home and the other half had parents with collar professions. Around one forth of the pupils had a history of immigration in the family In conclusion a “study culture” was dominating among the boys. The norm among both the girls and the boys was that you should study. Boys could openly study ambitious without any social cost. With a social cost I mean being teased, ridiculed or losing status in the social context. This norm was beneficial for both girls and boys at the school. The result shows that challenging a “anti school culture” or a “effortless achievement culture” is of great importance for both sexes. Despite their being at dominant “study culture” among the boys, girls on average still preform better than boys. This was because the ability to study was gendered. So even if boys were “allowed” to study as ambitious as girls without any social cost, they haven’t developed the same ability to do so because of different social expectations on girls and boys. In other words, did parallel and contradicting norms exist at the school. Some norms were “allowing” boys to study ambitious, other norms was “limiting” and a hinder for boys to do this.