Poetry and Gender: A Comparative Evaluation of Boys' and Girls' Responses to Poetry at Key Stage Four in Northern Ireland

Author(s):

Brian Hanratty

Conference:

ECER 2009

Network:

27. Didactics - Learning and Teaching

Format:

Paper

Session Information

27 SES 10 C, Gender Issues

Paper Session

Time:

2009-09-30

14:45-16:15

Room:

NIG, HS 2H

Chair:

Andreja Istenic Starcic

Contribution

The research questions and issues addressed and evaluated in this paper are predicated on a very strong belief in and commitment to the potential richness and power of poetry at the heart of the English curriculum (or, in European terms, any syllabus which includes the study of literature. Complementary to that belief, furthermore, is the conviction that, where poetry is concerned, any evaluation of 'success' should not be mainly based on a crude tally of examination results; rather, the central focus must be on the broader educational and imaginative benefits which can accrue from enjoying the richness of poetry while engaging with it both verbally and in written form. Against that background, then, the paper's main objective is to investigate whether, if the poetry to be explored has been carefully chosen and if appropriate pedagogical conditions are in place, boys can 'achieve' equally with girls or can even, indeed, transcend the 'achievement' of their female counterparts. The theoretical context for the paper includes some reference to the on-going debate about boys' underachievement in education, generally, and in English studies/poetry, more specifically - a debate which has, of course both European wide and, indeed global resonances. However, the paper also acknowledges that the idea of a simplistic or essentialist gender divide within education needs to be critically interrogated and must be qualified by reference to complicating factors such as class/race issues or quality of teaching, as well as by some theoretical exploration of issues connected with the construction and definition of gender. The complexity of the debate, furthermore, is underlined by reference to some previous research in England which suggests that, despite the perceived feminisation of English studies, boys can be galvanised into successful 'performance' in English/poetry if 'cultural capital' is seen to inhere in the study of the subject. Reference is also made to some, small-scale research in schools in Northern Ireland which also suggests positive outcomes provided there has been a careful choice of material, and a sensitivity both to boys' learning styles and to the possibilities inherent in deploying a range of pedagogical methods. Finally, the paper acknowledges tha teaching poetry cannot be entirely divorced from the examination context. Nonetheless, it is also postulated that, when pupils are fully engaged with the emotional and imaginative richness of poetry, their engagement will probably also result in enhanced grades in the poetry section of their English/literature examinations.

Method

The research data being evaluated resulted from poetry lessons conducted with Year Twelve (fifth-form) pupils in five schools in the Greater Belfast area during the first two terms of the school year, 2006-2007. The schools involved were four single-sex schools (two boys' and two girls') and one co-educational school; three of the schools were grammar, and the other two (one boys' and one girls') were non-selective secondary schools. In each school visited, I conducted two audio-taped one-hour teaching sessions with two separate classes (a total of twenty teaching hours); this teaching involved a seminar format and was complemented by the pupils completing a questionnaire focussed on various aspects of teaching and learning poetry, and by a follow-on written commentary by all pupils on each of the four poems under consideration. In total, about 240 pupils were involved, with approximately equal representation of boys and girls.

Expected Outcomes

The research established clearly that when both male and female pupils are presented with carefully chosen poens for detailed discussion, their responses can be gratifyingly positive - a conclusion which runs counter to the perception of disengagement from poetry by male pupils in particular. Key factors in eliciting that positive response were the dialogical method of engagement with well-chosen poems and perceived liveliness of presentation. Some interesting gender-specific distinctions did emerge, however; for example, boys who had been radicalised by their experience of life in North and West Belfast responded better to poems with a more politicised content. Nonetheless, any gendered distinctions tended to be subverted, or at least qualified, by other educational or socio-econmic factors. While the specific context of the research is focused on schools within Northern Ireland, poetry is, in a sense, a universal language and the results (like the questions asked) have, European-wide and, indeed, global implications.

References

REFERENCES Ashley, M. & Lee, J. (2003) Women teaching boys (Stoke on Trent, Trentham Books Ltd) Connolly, P. (2004) Boys and schooling in the early years (Routledge, London, Falmer). Connolly, P. (2006) Keeping a sense of proportion but losing all perspective: a critique of Gorard’s notion of the ‘politician’s error’, British Journal of Educational Studies, 54 (1), 73-88. Foster, V., Kimmel, M. & Skelton, C. (2001) ‘What about the boys?’ an overview of the debates, in: Martino, W. & Meyenn, B. (Eds) What about the boys? Issues of masculinity in schools (Buckingham, Open University Press), 1-23. Francis, B. & Skelton, C. (2001) Investigating gender: contemporary perspectives in education (Buckingham, Open University Press). Hanratty, B (2008) Opening the windows of wonder: a critical investigation into the teaching and learning of poetry at Key Stage Four in Northern Ireland, Irish Educational Studies, 27 (2), 147-158. Heaney, S. (2006) cited in: O’Driscoll, D. (Ed) The Bloodaxe book of poetry quotations (Northumberland, Bloodaxe Books Ltd. Hargreaves, D. (1967) Social relations in a secondary school (London, Routledge and Kegan Paul). Hutton, W. (2006) Boys today? We’re doing their heads in, The Observer, 4 June, p.27. Kindlon, D. & Thompson, M. (1999) Raising Cain (London, Michael Joseph). Lacey, C. (1970) Hightown Grammar (Manchester, Manchester University Press). Mac An Ghaill, M. (1994) The making of men: masculinities, sexualities and schooling (Buckingham, Open University Press). Mac An Ghaill, M., Hanafin, J. & Conway, P. (2004) Gender politics and ‘Exploring Masculinities’ in Irish education: teachers, materials and the media (Dublin, National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. McGahern, J. (1994) Bank holiday in, : Marcus, D. (Ed) Irish Love Stories (London, Sceptre), 213-232. McGee, M. (2004) An investigation into the causes of boys’ antipathy to the study of poetry. Unpublished M.Ed thesis, St Mary’s University College, the Queen’s University of Belfast. McMahon, M. (2003) Poetry, learning styles and creative writing: an investigation. Unpublished M.Ed thesis, St Mary’s University College, the Queen’s University of Belfast. Matthews, A. (2005) Review of Ashley, M. & Lee, J. (2003) Women teaching boys, British Educational Research Journal, 31 (1), 130. Maynard, T. (2005) The context: a problem of gender, in: Topping, K. & Maloney, S. (Eds) The Routledge Falmer reader in inclusive education (Oxon, Routledge Falmer), 83-94). Newman, E. (2005) Lads and English, English in Education 39 (1), 32-42. Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (1998) Can do better: raising boys’ achievement in English (London, Qualifications and Curriculum Authority) Thornton, M & Bricheno, P. (2006) Missing men in education (London, Trentham Books). Weiner, G. (1994) Feminisms in education: an introduction (Buckingham, Open University Press). Willis, P. (1977) Learning to labour: how working class kids get working class jobs (Aldershot, Saxon House). Wragg, T. (1997) ‘Oh Boy’ The Times Educational Supplement, 16 May. p.4.

Author Information

Brian Hanratty

St Mary's University College

English

Belfast

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