Exceptional Spaces: Diverse Learning Environments in a Public High School

• In Event: 21020 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 5: Exceptionality in Education

Abstract

Many American high schools feature extensive differentiation, offering various class topics (e.g. algebra, biology) and levels (e.g. college prep, honors). Across these courses, teachers create distinct learning environments through their interactions with students, enforcement of rules, and styles of delivering of the curriculum. In this paper, I compare students' experiences in “regular” classes versus those geared towards “exceptional learners” in a large public high school. Using an Institutional Ethnography (IE) framework, I find that teachers emphasized rigid rule enforcement and rote learning activities in “regular” classes, while creating spaces characterized by flexibility, collaboration, and permissiveness in classes intended for “exceptional learners.” Interestingly, these patterns held both in classes intended for students perceived to have exceptional academic abilities (Advanced Placement classes) and those perceived to have exceptional social needs (a cross-curricular grouping known as “the Block”). These findings offer insights into the organization of work in schools, the significance of labeling, and the social dimensions of academic differentiation.

Author

• Karlyn J. Gorski, University of Chicago