Gender, class and post-compulsory educational choices of non-heterosexual youth (symposium 997)
Author(s):
Conference:
ECER 2009
Format:
Symposium Paper

Session Information

23 SES 01 A, Collective Actions, Alliances and Resistance of Children, Young People and Teachers (Part 1)

Symposium to be continued in 23 SES 02 A

Time:
2009-09-28
09:15-10:45
Room:
HG, HS 28
Chair:
Gaby Weiner
Discussant:
Julie Allan

Contribution

Socioeconomic background and gender are widely acknowledged factors influencing the educational choices of young people. In Finland after compulsory education young people choose between academically oriented general upper secondary schools and vocational upper secondary schools. Class and gender intertwine with these choices in many ways. This is particularly visible in vocational education which is highly gender-segregated. In my presentation the focus is on the post-compulsory educational choices of non-heterosexual young people. I argue that sexuality is also a relevant difference effecting to the processes of education and career. Sexuality intertwines with class and gender. Based on interviews and stories produced with young non-heterosexual people analysis is made on how sexuality, gender and class were constructed as meaningful in upper secondary education and in the educational choices these young people made. Young non-heterosexual people are taken part into the processes where they are expected to construct educational and labour-market citizenship. They are often expected to be and act as heterosexual and their non-heterosexuality remains invisible and it is not seen as relevant when considering their educational career. Many of them resist the gendered expectations forced on them and choose differently. When questioning the classed expectations of their parents or teachers or challenging the gender-segregation of the educational market, they might face problems. They might be front-runners in confrontation with gendered norms in educational choices but this is not acknowledged in the national policies, programs or curricula statements, which argue for gender equality and abolishment of gender-segregation in the labour market.

Method

Expected Outcomes

References

Author Information

University of Helsinki
Department of Education
University of Helsinki
67

Update Modus of this Database

The current conference programme can be browsed in the conference management system (conftool) and, closer to the conference, in the conference app.
This database will be updated with the conference data after ECER. 

Search the ECER Programme

  • Search for keywords and phrases in "Text Search"
  • Restrict in which part of the abstracts to search in "Where to search"
  • Search for authors and in the respective field.
  • For planning your conference attendance, please use the conference app, which will be issued some weeks before the conference and the conference agenda provided in conftool.
  • If you are a session chair, best look up your chairing duties in the conference system (Conftool) or the app.