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Summary
This book traces the experiences of young French and Algerian women students in a Parisian vocational school--how they negotiate their class, gender, and ethnic/racial identities in relation to school, family, romance, and future work in a changing and unpromising economy. Drawn from classroom observations and personal interviews, the book provides a theoretical framework for analyzing the complex network of cultural and historical discourses, limitations, and expectations that form the students' present lives and future outlook.
The author links the micro and macro levels of her analysis by grounding her study in the nature of the French school, the discursive boundaries of French society, and the volatile French economy. The book contributes to an overall understanding of the processes of identity formation; class, race/ethnicity, and gender intersections; and women's responses to schooling and education. Catherine Raissiguier is Assistant Professor of Women's Studies at the University of Cincinnati.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1 Introduction
Posing the Problem
Why Focus on Farida and Alexandra?
Espistemological Considerations
The Study
Analysis and Organization of the Book
Chapter 2 Theoretical Framework
Moving Beyond the Structure/Culture Dichotomy
From Reproduction to …?
Taking Gender Seriously
And Race/Ethnicity …
Beyond Class (comma) Gender (comma) Race (comma)
Language and Subjectivity
Chapter 3 Background of the Study
Present Structure of the French School System
The Nature of Educational Differentiation in France
Massification of the French School System
Differentiation and Social Class
Differentiation and Ethnicity/Race
Differentiation and Gender
French Schools in a Changing Economy: Economic Growth, Degradation of Work, and Fordism
Schooling for a Modernizing Economy
French Schools in a Changing Economy: Economic Recession, Deindustrialization and Post-Fordism
Vocational Education: Revalorization or Formation of Marginal Workers?
Conclusion
Chapter 4 Class, Gender, and Race in the School: Defining the Boundaries
Gender Stratification in the School
Ethnic/Racial Stratification in the School
Class Stratification in the School
Vocational School: Failure or Success?
Conclusion
Chapter 5 Class, Gender, and Race in the School: Silencing and Marginalization
