“Mean Girls” Go to College: Conflicting Story Lines in Female-Against-Female Bullying

• In Event: Enacting Ideologies: Studies of Multimodal Discourse in Mediating Macro- and Micro-Social Worlds

Abstract

Purpose. Using micro- and macro-levels of analysis, the purpose of this study was to explore ramifications of bullying that occurred amongst female students in a university elementary literacy methods course.

Theoretical framework. Positioning theory served as a lens for this work because it is a useful conceptual tool to explore how learning is produced in and through discursive practices (including linguistic as well as multimodal) at both the micro- and macro-levels (Harré & Moghaddam, 2003). Speakers and writers assume and enact various positions in conversational exchanges at the micro-level. Moreover, individuals are positioned by discursive practices at broader social, cultural, historical, and institutional levels (e.g., Harré & Mogohaddam, 2003).

Methods. The context for this qualitative case study is an upper elementary literacy methods course with 16 white female students (Stake, 2000). Six of the 10 students in the course formed a clique in the class. After the class ended, six of the 16 students in the course agreed to participate in this study. Of these six students, two were members of the clique and four were not. These six students were the focus informants for this study.
Data sources. Data sources included artifacts such as copies of student work from across the semester, the course syllabus, digital video recordings of all 45 hours of classroom interactions, and digital audio recordings of six face-to-face interviews (with informants who agreed to participate in the study). I analyzed and catalogued course artifacts and interviews pertaining to the six informants noting central themes across all course-related data.

Results. The most significant finding at the micro-level was the disparity in students’ perceptions of the classroom community. The two girls in the clique argued that the class was “one big happy family.” The four informants not in the clique, however, argued that the behaviors of the six girls in the clique negatively impacted their learning. This is consistent with the research of Simmons (2002, p. 44) who found that female aggression can create “a sort of emotional poison ivy which makes it hard to concentrate on anything else.” An analysis of the informants’ physical locations and choices work partners during class sessions revealed that the six-girl clique did, in fact, physically separate itself from the remaining girls in class (Kress, 2010). At the macro-level, I explored the ideology underlying the broader social “reality” of bullying by examining specific ways that systems of differences were enacted (Kavanaugh, 1995). Research on bullying (e.g., Meyer, 2009) suggests that the manifestation, and use, of social capital is a central issue at play in bullying situations. The manifestation and use of social capital most prevalent in this context included physical appearance and perceived expertise working with children.
Significance. This study raises important questions such as: How should teacher educators handle situations involving cliquish/bullying behaviors? How do researchers effectively consider both micro- and macro-levels of analysis in their work? How do researchers draw on multimodal means to explore the complex interplay between micro- and macro-levels of analysis?

Author

• Cynthia H. Brock, University of Nevada - Reno