Gender, status, writing, and the resolution of kindergarten girls' social tensions

Abstract

Based on data from a year-long study, this article examines conversations among a group of kindergarten girls who used the school-defined task of writing to maintain social cohesion in their peer social interactions. Because of the genres and form of their writing, they were also able to use the writing to further individual status aspirations, which created tensions within the group. However, the girls developed strategies and rules that allowed them to resolve these tensions and to satisfy both group and individual needs, supporting research that claims girls practice “cooperative competition” in their group interactions.