Elementary School Teachers’ Beliefs About Student Bodily Hexis

• In Event: 3255 - Section on the Sociology of Body and Embodiment Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 1. Emotion, Affect, and Bodily Practice

Abstract

Markers of social class are communicated and interpreted through a diverse set of social practices that include factors such as grooming habits, dress, language, and nonverbal behaviors (Bjornsdottir, et al. 2017; Fitzpatrick et al, 2016; Kraus et al, 2017). Research suggests that teachers routinely assess the social class status of their students (Rist, 1970; Norman, 2016), yet nascent in existing data are the corporeal cues teachers believe signal a students’ social class status. This exploratory study explores the nonverbal behaviors teachers associate with children of either upper- or lower-social class status. On a Likert survey of 70 items, teachers rated the likelihood of their target child (either upper-class or lower-class) performing a variety of nonverbal behaviors. 53 of the 70 behaviors studied showed significant differences in perceived frequency based on the teacher’s understanding of the social class of the student in question. This data sheds light on the processes that contribute to cycles of social reproduction in schools.

Authors

• Sue Ellen Henry, Bucknell University

• Abe Feuerstein, Bucknell University