The double bind for non-traditional families in post-primary settings; to tell or not to tell their family identity

Desmond, Ann-Marie

The double bind for non-traditional families in post-primary settings; to tell or not to tell their family identity

dc.check.embargoformat	E-thesis on CORA only	en
dc.check.entireThesis	Entire Thesis Restricted
dc.check.opt-out	No	en
dc.check.reason	This thesis is due for publication or the author is actively seeking to publish this material	en
dc.contributor.advisor	Kitching, Karl	en
dc.contributor.author	Desmond, Ann-Marie
dc.date.accessioned	2014-02-03T16:28:41Z
dc.date.available	2016-04-20
dc.date.issued	2014
dc.date.submitted	2014
dc.description.abstract	This thesis involved researching normative family discourses which are mediated through educational settings. The traditional family, consisting of father, mother and children all living together in one house is no longer reflective of the home situation of many Irish students (Lunn and Fahey, 2011). My study problematizes the dominant discourses which reflect how family differences are managed and recognised in schools. A framework using Foucauldian post structural critical analysis traces family stratification through the organisation of institutional and interpersonal relations at micro level in four post-primary schools. Standardising procedures such as the suppression of intimate relations between and among teacher and student, as well as the linear ordering of intergenerational relations, such as teacher/student and adult/child are critiqued. Normalising discourses operate in practices 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 setup that is constructed as different to the rest of the schools'. The management of family difference and deficit through pastoral care structures suggests a school-based politics of family adjustment. These practices beg the question whether families are better off not telling the school about their family identity. My thesis will be of interest to educational research and educational policy because it highlights how changing demographics such as family compositions are mis-conceptualised in schools, as well as revealing the changing forms of family governance through regimes such as pastoral care. This analysis allows for the existence of, and a valuing for, alternative modes of family existence, so that future curricular and legal discourses can be challenged in the interest of equity and social justice.	en
dc.description.status	Not peer reviewed	en
dc.description.version	Accepted Version
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf	en
dc.identifier.citation	Desmond, A.-M. 2014. The double bind for non-traditional families in post-primary settings; to tell or not to tell their family identity. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.	en
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10468/1357
dc.language.iso	en	en
dc.publisher	University College Cork	en
dc.rights	© 2014, Ann-Marie Desmond.	en
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/	en
dc.subject	Home-school governance	en
dc.subject	Family recognition	en
dc.subject	Family-stratification	en
dc.subject	Normalization discourses	en
dc.subject	Pastoral care	en
dc.subject.lcsh	Social stratification	en
dc.subject.lcsh	Families--Ireland	en
dc.subject.lcsh	Home and school--Ireland	en
dc.thesis.opt-out	false
dc.title	The double bind for non-traditional families in post-primary settings; to tell or not to tell their family identity	en
dc.type	Doctoral thesis	en
dc.type.qualificationlevel	Doctoral Degree (Structured)	en
dc.type.qualificationname	PhD (Education)	en
ucc.workflow.supervisor	k.kitching@ucc.ie