Conflicts, competition and social support in female-dominated vocational education – breaking or reaffirming stereotypical femininity?

Abstract

One in four upper secondary school students in Norway experience nearly single-sex classrooms, an unintended consequence of choosing certain vocational study programmes, such as Health care, childhood and youth development or Building and construction. This raises a question about how female students describe their experiences of social relationships and classroom culture within the context of a gender-segregated vocational education setting. Analyses of educational biography interviews reveal that stories of conflict, competition and cultural differences dominate and are often described using derogative or gendered language, such as ‘bitching’, ‘gossip’ and ‘drama’. These stories demonstrate a break with gender stereotypes but, at the same time, accentuate femininity by aligning the behaviour to stereotypical discourses of ‘girl’ behaviour. In their stories, gender loses its importance as a basis for solidarity and commonality when students share the same gender; instead, hierarchies and other differences become highlighted.