Getting Through the Day: Youth Experiences of High School

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session One
  In Roundtable Session: Sociology of Education SIG Roundtables: From Micro to Macro (Table 18)

Abstract

High schools are spaces where adolescents learn, and their learning is not restricted to the official curriculum. During and after the school day, young people learn lessons about themselves, their peers, and the broader social world. These lessons matter not only for how they shape who young people become, but also for youths' experiences of schooling in the present. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork from three school years (2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022), I show that learning outside of the formal curriculum influences students' perceptions of themselves, the formal curriculum, and schooling more generally. I supplement ethnographic observations with 108 interviews with students and school faculty/staff to examine youths' experiences of schooling in one context.

Author

• Karlyn J Gorski, University of Chicago
  Presenting Author