ABSTRACT

This paper is significant in its exploration of the experiences of children designated as ‘lower-attaining’ in British primary schooling. It is underpinned by Nancy Fraser’s conceptualisation of a global shift from government via nation-state welfare structures to governance through supra-national financialised neoliberalism. Within this context, we take the innovative path of investigating how ‘lower-attaining’ children explain perseverance with hard work at school within neoliberalism’s ‘cruel and cynical fiction’ of social mobility. Our extended interviews with 23 ‘lower-attaining’ children over two years provide findings which indicate – with a startling vividness – that these particular children experienced loneliness at school and blamed themselves for being inadequate and inferior. Fear appeared to be an essential component of their schooling system and sometimes elicited from them anger as well as humiliation. In particular, these children feared being assessed and sorted according to attainment. We propose that these factors often led the ‘lower-attaining’ children to experience schooling as at least uncomfortable. And yet they came to accept as fact the fiction that they were inadequate; and to perceive that perseverance in conforming to schooling’s rules was their only chance of not slipping out of the race altogether.

摘要

本文在探索英国小学教育中被认定为“成绩较差”的儿童的经历方面具有重要意义。南希·弗雷泽 (Nancy Fraser) 提出的全球从政府通过民族国家福利结构转向通过超国家金融化新自由主义进行治理的概念化为它提供了支持。在此背景下，我们采取创新路径调查“成绩较差”的儿童如何在新自由主义关于社会流动的“残酷和愤世嫉俗的虚构”中解释在学校努力工作的毅力。我们在两年多的时间里对 23 名“成绩较差”的儿童进行了广泛的采访，提供的调查结果令人吃惊地生动地表明，这些特殊的孩子在学校经历了孤独，并责备自己不足和自卑。恐惧似乎是他们学校教育系统的重要组成部分，有时会引起他们的愤怒和羞辱。特别是，这些孩子害怕被根据成绩进行评估和分类。我们认为，这些因素经常导致“成绩较差”的孩子至少感到上学不舒服。然而，他们开始接受他们不合适的虚构事实。并且认识到坚持遵守学校规则是他们不完全退出比赛的唯一机会。然而，他们开始接受他们不合适的虚构事实。并且认识到坚持遵守学校规则是他们不完全退出比赛的唯一机会。然而，他们开始接受他们不合适的虚构事实。并且认识到坚持遵守学校规则是他们不完全退出比赛的唯一机会。