A Case Study of a Dominant Masculinities Discourse and Boys' Early School Leaving in a Rural Context

This paper examines the school experiences of a boy named Brendan, and how he used a dominant masculinities discourse to make sense of his early school leaving decision. Adopting Fairclough's (2002) model of discourse as a conceptual framework for this research allowed the exploration of the different socio-cultural practices as perceived by Brendan in his geographical location. Brendan's narrative revealed his strong belief in the value of learning, and how it was the context of school that was unable to provide him with learning that was both meaningful and relevant to his post school pathways. Based on his understanding of what being a 'male' was in his geographic context, Brendan claimed he was unable to align his masculine identity to dominant forms in the school context due to the schooling discourses of oppression (Connell, 2003) that sustained a power imbalance between student and teacher. Through Brendan's experiences, the paper highlights the interplay of the sociocultural practices in the contexts of school and geographical location. It further challenges the central importance ascribed to teachers in the classroom and how they may impact upon boys' understanding of their post-school pathways. The study concluded that consideration be given by education researchers to the how a dominant masculinities discourse is constructed in different geographical locations, when exploring boys' school engagement, participation and retention.