Young students’ understanding of indiscipline in the school context: A Foucauldian analysis of discourses of Vietnamese primary students
Tran, Ngoc Kim Ngan (2020)
Tran, Ngoc Kim Ngan
2020
Master's Programme in Teacher Education
Kasvatustieteiden ja kulttuurin tiedekunta - Faculty of Education and Culture
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2020-12-31
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202012028401
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202012028401
Tiivistelmä
The issue of indiscipline has been one of the most serious problems challenging schools and educators. While many strategies and attempts have been made to tackle this issue, little attention has been paid to the understanding of the concept of ‘indiscipline’ from young students’ perspectives.
To address this gap, this study aims to investigate how primary students understand the concept of ‘indiscipline’ in the school context and how they constitute themselves as the subject and object of ‘indiscipline’. To highlight the sophisticated and ambivalent nature of this concept, a Foucauldian discourse analysis is used, conducted with a focus groups method and written diary of the data collection process.
The findings presented a large collection of discourses and knowledge which students drew on to constitute their understanding of the concept of ‘indiscipline’ in the school context as well as their status as the subject and object of ‘indiscipline’. From the students’ point of view, this concept emerged as a complicated and sometimes ambivalent entity, which promoted the need to abandon the binary definition of the concept of indiscipline.
The study provides useful implications and suggestions for the schools and educators. First, primary students have an opportunity to speak of their opinions and experiences which were not discussed and taken into account carefully and widely. Second, it provides a more thorough understanding of indiscipline, which will facilitate school administrators and teachers in future discussions and plans to address and tackle the issue of indiscipline.
To address this gap, this study aims to investigate how primary students understand the concept of ‘indiscipline’ in the school context and how they constitute themselves as the subject and object of ‘indiscipline’. To highlight the sophisticated and ambivalent nature of this concept, a Foucauldian discourse analysis is used, conducted with a focus groups method and written diary of the data collection process.
The findings presented a large collection of discourses and knowledge which students drew on to constitute their understanding of the concept of ‘indiscipline’ in the school context as well as their status as the subject and object of ‘indiscipline’. From the students’ point of view, this concept emerged as a complicated and sometimes ambivalent entity, which promoted the need to abandon the binary definition of the concept of indiscipline.
The study provides useful implications and suggestions for the schools and educators. First, primary students have an opportunity to speak of their opinions and experiences which were not discussed and taken into account carefully and widely. Second, it provides a more thorough understanding of indiscipline, which will facilitate school administrators and teachers in future discussions and plans to address and tackle the issue of indiscipline.