A Foucauldian perspective on student experiences of family discourses in post-primary schools

Abstract

This work involves researching normative family discourses which are mediated through post-primary settings. The traditional family, consisting of father, mother and children all living together in one house (nuclear) is no longer reflective of the home situation of many Irish students [Lunn, P., and T. Fahey. 2012. Households and Family Structures in Ireland: A Detailed Statistical Analysis of Census 2006. Dublin: ESRI]. My study problematises micro practices involving families as reported by students in three post-primary schools, to report how family differences are managed and (mis)recognised from their lens. The influence of the dominant educational discourses (contextual and textual), are also considered. A framework using Foucauldian post-structural critical analysis traces family profiling through normalising discourses such as notes home which presume two parents together. Teacher assumptions about heterosexual two-parent families make it difficult for students to be open about a family set-up that is constructed as ‘different’ to the rest of the schools. My findings will be of interest to educational research and policy-makers because they highlight how changing demographics such as family compositions are mis-conceptualised in schools, leading to issues of injustice such as bullying and isolation for the students involved.

Keywords:

• family diversity
• normalisation
• pastoral power
• family discrimination
• Foucault

Notes on contributor

Ann-Marie Desmond is a post-primary teacher in an all-girls school in Cork. She did her primary degree, Bachelor of Religious Education and History at Mater Dei Institute of Education, Dublin. She has a Masters’ in Education from University College Cork, and also a PhD in Education from University College Cork, since 2014. Ann-Marie’s interest lies in School Discourses and Pastoral Care for students from non-traditional type families. She questions whether the present school practices around these students are in line with the needs of changing family compositions in Ireland. Ann-Marie has also written a book on the history of her school and has contributed articles to Religious and History Journals at local level.