Abstract
I examine experiences of former Australian schoolgirls in relation to mathematics during secondary school. This research scrutinises misunderstandings about success and impact on subject choice that can result in post-schooling trajectories that limit what girls can do in their lives beyond school. I examine ways affective relationality, as a sense of embodied belonging, may influence participation in subjects. I frame the discussion using the Baradian concept of intra-action, a co-production that engages an ethic of non-coincidence. For these participants, a reductive high-stakes testing environment and aspirations to become a master subject evoke a powerful not good enough assemblage. The responsibility to achieve enough success incites a soliciting of a particular self in affective regulation. The dread of not excelling in mathematics was often too much to endure thus participants chose to discontinue studying mathematics. They understood this as a sensible solution to prevent vulnerability, as not good enough.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 205-221 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Gender and Education |
Volume | 31 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2019 |
Keywords
- affect
- inequity
- intra-action
- mathematics
- Schoolgirl
- subject choice