Girl Talk: A Qualitative Study of Girls Talking About the Meaning of Their Lives in an Urban Single-Sex Elementary School

Abstract

The suburban–urban achievement gap (diminishing until the 1980s) has stopped its narrowing trend, and single-sex schools are proliferating as a reform model, especially in urban areas. In this study researchers interviewed eight elementary school girls (in an all-girls school) three times over 2 years, and the resulting 23 transcripts were analyzed with focused and axial coding. Themes were constructed from these girls' meaning-making, including the challenge of gender stereotypes, an enthusiasm about math, a vision of unlimited futures, a sense of justice and personal ethics in relationships, presence of uncertainties in their lives, their reflections on the “good” teacher, and the strong influence of family belonging. The authors draw implications from the meanings these girls make of their lived experiences to teachers' understanding and classroom practice; and they also connect the themes to contemporary culture, including the field of girls' studies.

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge and thank the other members of our research team—Shayla Brown, Nora Jennings, Corinna Lansangan, Allison Nary, Lauren Roberts, Jennifer Schwertman, Elizabeth Whitman, and Patricia Blyden, whose contributions to the design and implementation of our field research were substantial and crucial. Their universal enthusiasm for and commitment to this project—and to the schools with whom we worked—were inspiring. As representatives of this team, we dedicate this work to the school girls who shared their stories and lives with us.

Funding

This research was supported in part by the University of Dayton Humanities Fellows Program, which was established with a matching grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.