School as a prison: a case study of masculinity and early school leaving - The use of school discourses to understand boys' early school leaving in Queensland, Australia

Abstract

How well Australian boys perform during the compulsory years of schooling has generated consistent interest from academics, school personnel and State education departments alike. Considerable research in Australia (Ball & Lamb, 2001; Collins, Kenway & McLeod, 2000; Lamb, Walstab, Teese, Vickers & Rumberger, 2005; McMillan & Marks, 2003) and elsewhere (Arnot, David & Weiner, 1998, 1999; Cullingford, 1990; 1999; 2002; Erskine, 1999; Fine, 1991) has highlighted that boys experience problems at school in terms of learning, behaviour, achievement and participation. In particular, the retention of boys to Year 12 has been problematic. This paper analyses 22 school leaving boys’ discourses about school and their links to their early school leaving decisions. Through the use of qualitative research, this study set out to explore the school leavers' own accounts of their decisions to leave school early. This paper reports part of a larger three-year longitudinal study entitled 'Factors affecting boys' engagement with schooling at the Secondary level' project funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC)/Strategic Partnerships with Industry - Research and Training Scheme (SPIRT). It will report on the generative themes, discourses and storylines the school leaving boys used to describe their school experiences and to account for their school experiences and early school leaving decisions in their geographic context.