The identity formation of “playgirls” and its implication on education

• Main Authors: Lin, Yu-Hsuan, 林昱瑄
• Other Authors: Hui-Ling Wendy Pan
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2007
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/80116804941459600471

博士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 教育學系 === 95 === This research, adopting the perspectives of three teenage “playgirls”, tries to represent the cultural experiences of their world. The purpose is to explore the culture and lifestyle of these urban working-class girls, and their identity formation of becoming “playgirls”. Through their marginal experiences in the school, the issue of mainstream education system is reflected and suggestions about developing critical pedagogy are proposed. The research participants are three junior high school girls, who are labeled as “bad girls” by the school faculty. Qualitative methods such as in-depth interview, observation and document analysis are employed. The interview data covers almost every aspect of their life, including dating, friendship, popular culture, school, family, work and their expectations about future. The research period spans from their eighth grade to ninth grade in junior high school. The research findings are as follows: First of all, there are some themes in “playgirls”’ culture. For example, they tend to be highly valueing hegemonic masculinity, centering their life around romance, having accelerated life course, emphasizing practical knowledge, enjoying fooling around in flocks, and having anti-school culture, biased gender culture and Han-centered ideology. Secondly, in terms of the identity formation process of the “playgirls”, it is found that when they fail in school, they may appropriate the class and gender culture inherited from home and their working-class community as raw materials to establish an alternative identity to resist their subordinate position in school. This identity pushes them to the job market right after graduation from junior high school and to get married at an early age. In the process, resistance and reproduction work together. Finally, based on these three girls’ culture, identity and experiences in school, suggestions for school education are proposed.