Muddling through school life: an ethnographic study of the subculture of ‘deviant’ students in China

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of an eight-month ethnographic study of a small group of at-risk youths in a school of a southern coastal city in China. The process leading to the young students being marginalised by the school system and how they developed a ‘muddling through’ subculture to counteract this marginalisation is revealed. It is argued that this small group of at-risk youths has capitalised on their subculture and used it to resist authorities, to acquire social skills and to safeguard their psychological well-being. The present study contributes to the literature in several ways. First, the in-depth description of the subculture of a group of at-risk youths in a Chinese school provides a Chinese angle for youth (post-) subculture studies. Second, the critical discussion about the ‘empowerment’ role that the ‘deviant’ subculture plays enriches the literature about the functions of youth culture.

Keywords:

• Subculture
• youth
• deviance
• ethnography
• muddling through