Expectations and perceptions at school transitions: The role of peer status and aggression

In the Australian education system, there are substantial class inequalities in educational outcomes and transitions. These inequalities persist despite increased choice and individual opportunity for young people. This article explores high school students’ experiences of class in a social context they largely believe to be a meritocracy. Specifically, it asks: how does class shape young people’s thinking and decision-making about their post-school futures? I use Bourdieu’s ‘habitus’ as a frame to understand the role of class in young people’s lives, stressing its generative and heterogeneous aspects. Drawing on qualitative-led mixed methods research, this article argues that young people have internalised the ‘doxa’ of meritocracy, agency and ambition, conceiving of themselves as individual agents in this context. However, risk and security, opportunities and constraints, are not distributed equally in a class-stratified society. Young people from working-class backgrounds more commonly imagine insecure, uncertain futures.

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The role of athlete as contributor to peer status in school-age and adolescent females in the United States: From pre-title IX to 2000 and beyond

Social Psychology of Education ◽

10.1007/s11218-004-6734-4 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 223-244 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

William A. Lindstrom ◽

A. Michele Lease

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Title Ix ◽

The United States ◽

Adolescent Females ◽

Peer Status ◽

School Age

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Friendship as a predictor of adjustment following a transition to formal academic instruction and evaluation

International Journal of Behavioral Development ◽

10.1177/01650250544000099 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 314-322 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Giovanna Tomada ◽

Barry H. Schneider ◽

Piero de Domini ◽

Paul S. Greenman ◽

Ada Fonzi

Keyword(s):

Life Experiences ◽

Antisocial Behaviour ◽

School Transition ◽

Second Grade ◽

School Transitions ◽

Attitudes Toward School ◽

Cognitive Changes ◽

Academic Instruction ◽

The City

Most school transitions are characterised by sweeping changes in children's social and learning environments, often accompanied by important biological and cognitive changes; the multiple changes occurring within the child and the environment make the results of school-transition studies difficult to interpret. Italian elementary school children experience a marked transition in teaching and evaluation style at the end of second grade, but do not change schools. Formal academic instruction begins and pupils' progress begins to be evaluated individually by means of oral examinations. The present longitudinal study focuses on the role of friends during this transition. The participants were pupils of 17 classes in 11 schools in the city of Florence, Italy, and surrounding towns. Self-reported liking of school decreased sharply after the transition. There were some indications that having friends contributed overall to successful adjustment after the transition, especially in terms of children's liking of school. There was also some evidence that friendship is an asset to children undergoing stressful life experiences. Both children's liking of school and their antisocial behaviours were predicted by their friends' attitudes toward school and their friends' antisocial behaviour.

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The Effects of Social Status and Self-Esteem on Imitation and Choice of a Popular Peer

Journal of Relationships Research ◽

10.1017/jrr.2015.11 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tessa A.M. Lansu ◽

Antonius H.N. Cillessen ◽

Johan C. Karremans

Keyword(s):

Experimental Design ◽

Social Influence ◽

Emerging Adults ◽

Young Women ◽

Peer Influence ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Partner Choice ◽

Peer Status ◽

And Task

This study addressed the role of influencer and influencee peer status in social influence of status-unrelated behaviours among emerging adults, while disentangling two forms of peer status, being liked (preference) and being powerful (popularity). Peer influence was examined in 67 women (M age = 20.5 years, SD = 2.1 years) using an experimental design. Popularity of the influencers and influencees (participants), as well as influencees’ preference and self-esteem were considered. Peer influence was measured through imitation of status-unrelated behaviours and task partner choice. In both tasks, influencees moved away from, rather than towards, a popular peer. Popular young women with low self-esteem were most likely to imitate a popular peer. Unpreferred young women with high self-esteem were least likely to imitate a popular peer. The findings demonstrate that the role of peer status in social influence processes is not limited to adolescence, and that the peer status of influencers and the influencees continues to affect social influence on status-unrelated behaviour in emerging adulthood.

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