ABSTRACT

Primary homework in England is widespread and contentious, yet research largely ignores its gendered impact on families. This netnographic study locates mother perspectives online to explore whether participation in mother-focused forums affords maternal cyber-agency in the homework debate. Findings suggest that many women, positioning themselves as ‘good’ mothers, perform their maternal identity online by upholding an ideology of good mothering which expects maternal support for homework. Alternative homework practices are critiqued as ‘bad’ mothering. Although other perspectives emerge, individual mothers’ abilities to create new homework narratives in anonymous online spaces are restricted by the forums’ alignment towards dominant mothering ideologies and their normative practices. These findings question assumptions of maternal empowerment, support and cyber-agency, in online spaces which operate as communities of collective, hegemonic knowledge. Teachers also infiltrate the forums, directing maternal homework behaviours using good mothering. Good mothering’s impact on maternal cyber-agency and forum homework discussion is therefore highlighted.

抽象的

在英格兰，主要的家庭作业是广泛而有争议的，但是研究在很大程度上忽略了其对家庭的性别影响。这项民族志研究在网上找到了母亲的观点，以探讨参加以母亲为中心的论坛是否为孕产妇网络代理提供了家庭作业辩论的机会。研究结果表明，许多将自己定位为“好”母亲的妇女通过坚持良好的母亲意识形态来在线表现自己的母亲身份，这种意识形态期望母亲对家庭作业的支持。替代性的家庭作业实践被批评为“不良”的母亲。尽管出现了其他观点，但由于论坛与主导的母体意识形态及其规范性实践的结合，限制了单个母亲在匿名在线空间中创建新家庭作业叙事的能力。这些发现质疑孕产妇赋权的假设，在线空间中的支持和网络代理，这些空间是集体，霸权知识的社区。老师们还渗透到论坛中，通过良好的母亲指导母亲的家庭作业行为。因此，强调了良好的母亲对孕产妇网络机构和论坛家庭作业讨论的影响。