Despite a large amount of research focusing on bullying and exclusion in secondary schools, there is far less research focusing on cross-gender bullying and 'popular' students who experience bullying. This research provides an analysis of interactions between male and female students (aged 13-14) in a school in England. The data provides multiple…

Healthy social, emotional and cognitive development of deaf children depends upon complex interactions between the many individual and environmental factors associated with deafness. Deaf children and adolescents have been reported to possess greater rates of mental health problems than hearing children and adolescents. Dysfunction in one or more…

The concept of space is gaining increased attention in studies of sexuality and gender, not least those focusing on heterosexism and heteronormativity. Such studies have demonstrated that space is sexualised, gendered and actively produced. In this article, we present the findings from an ethnographic study of two Icelandic upper secondary…

Through the lens of post-structural agency, this article focuses on how self-identified smart girls strategically negotiate their academic identities within the gendered terrain of the school. Based on interviews with 51 smart high school girls in Canada, our analysis complicates current narrative of girls' easy achievement in school. Participants…

Youth with disabilities, compared with their typical peers, have a higher likelihood of dropping out of school and experience poorer transition outcomes. Evidence supports programs and interventions focusing on inclusive education and leadership skills results in successful transition to college and career. This article describes the experiences…

This article draws from a qualitative research project completed at Victoria High School (pseudonym) in Cape Town in 2012 which explored 13 learners' perspectives of achievement and its influence on their lives and thinking. The piece problematises and analyses taken-for-granted connections between money, achievement, youth aspirations and views…

Recent state and federal legislations on educational accountability push evaluation and grading to the frontline. This study examined students' perspectives of grading in physical education. The participants included students (N = 39) from two middle schools. Data were collected through observation, student profile grading sheets and interviews.…

This paper addresses the participation of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in mainstream schools. There are different benefits for ASD students to be educated in an inclusive environment (Gena, 2006; Whitaker, 2004). They challenge the school community by presenting difficulties in essential domains for school activities (Chamberlain,…

The dramatic rise in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is accompanied by a substantial increase in public school inclusion. A growing body of research supports the need for teachers proficient in evidence-based practices to support such students. One strategy involves using peer support networks like Circle of Friends (CoF)…

The dramatic rise in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is accompanied by a substantial increase in public school inclusion. A growing body of research supports the need for teachers proficient in evidence-based practices to support such students. One strategy involves using peer support networks like Circle of Friends (CoF)…

This study explored whether and to what extent Ogbu and Fordham's Oppositional Culture Theory applied to African American high school students at one Midwestern suburban high school. Based on multiple interviews with six African American students, the study found support for some aspects of the theory but not for others.

This paper draws on data from a research project investigating gendered identities and interactions of high-achieving students in Year Eight in England (12-13 years old), particularly in relation to students' "popularity" amongst their peers. As part of this study 71 students were interviewed from nine different schools in urban, rural…

Students learn best when they feel accepted, included and have positive social relationships. Over a period of two school years, four students with disabilities told their stories of the reality of their secondary school experiences including their experiences of friendships and social relationships in their classrooms and out-of-class settings.…

Parents know adolescents can be cruel. They do not want their child rejected by peers. What is it like to be denigrated by one's middle school classmates? How common is a predatory anti-teacher peer culture in junior high school? Does it typically last into high school? How do peer norms of different crowds in a school get established? Who sets…

This paper looks at the relationship between the study behavior and academic engagement of individual students, the norms and attitudes of close friends, and the peer culture of school. The authors are particularly interested in how the academic orientation of a student and his or her close friends invites or protects him or her from harassment by…