Poststructuralist Framework Research Articles

Poststructural Perspectives in English Teaching in Rural Colombia

This reflective theoretical article explores the intersection of poststructuralist perspectives and English Language Teaching (ELT) trends, specifically in rural areas of Colombia, addressing language policies that prioritize the utilitarian aspects of English while neglecting its intercultural essence. The objective is to advocate for a poststructuralist approach in reshaping English language education in rural Colombian contexts, challenging utilitarian paradigms to promote inclusivity, equity, and social justice within language learning frameworks. Drawing on extensive research and the author’s ongoing doctoral studies, the paper explores intricate connections among linguistic trends, power dynamics, and language ideologies within ELT. The paper discusses the implications of poststructuralism in Colombian ELT, emphasizing the need for a paradigm shift. Embracing a more inclusive perspective, the study highlights the transformative potential of poststructuralist frameworks in fostering equitable language education.

Who deserves help and who is bad? Race and class in ‘doing’ school exclusion

ABSTRACT This article presents findings from qualitative research on school exclusion. The study was conducted in a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU), part of alternative education provision, in England. Mixed methods used included ethnographic approaches, drama-based group work, focus group discussions and interviews. Research participants were teenage boys (age 14–16) and professionals including Teachers and Teaching Assistants (TAs). Data were analysed in multiple ways within a post structural framework, this included a participatory Data Sharing workshop with boys at the PRU and psycho social approaches. Intersectionality and post structural theories provide conceptual resources for the study. Key themes are as follows: Situated context, boys’ creative practices through rap music and the phenomenon of parents sending their sons ‘back home’ outside the UK. The article highlights school exclusion as part of a wider global context of inequity and punishment in education. It offers nuanced insights from the raced and classed experience of exclusion.

Education policy and ‘free speech’ on race and faith equality at school

ABSTRACT Right-wing populists have recurrently created moral panics internationally about the supposed need to ‘protect free speech’ in higher education (HE), and ‘protect children’ from progressive speech in schools. This paper presents the first systematic analysis of how such dynamics function with respect to race and faith equality in a national school policy context. Drawing on a critical post-structural framework, we conceptualise the policy problematisation of speech as situated in a wider set of coercion-consent governing strategies used to manage contemporary authoritarian neoliberal contradictions, and to narrow the speakability of anti-racist and faith equality concerns. We present a two-stage thematic and discursive analysis of a corpus of primarily school-focused English policy texts from successive Conservative-led governments (2010–2022). The analysis outlines three main policy strategies which narrow speakability: the defining of ‘good’ schools and citizens with limited/oppositional reference to race equality, the problematising of ‘dangerous’ speech, and the indexing of school/HE subjects who are truly vulnerable to political speech. The paper offers an urgent case study of how possibilities for progressive race and faith-based expression are shaped beyond explicitly speech-focused policies, and argues that engagement of the complex governance of speakability offers nuanced possibilities for analysing bans on progressive education internationally.

Fugitive Philosophy

: The central inquiry of this article concerns the ethical orientation within post-structuralism, specifically questioning its potential affinity with deontology. While the “philosophers of difference” offer divergent perspectives on the doctrine of judgment, Jacques Derrida folds it within Deconstruction as a nomo-aporetic transcendental horizon. To understand this operation and its potential ethical significance, I suggest Jean-François Lyotard offers the best counter-model with which to compare against Derrida’s. Amongst their direct and indirect exchanges with each other is a dialogue concerning the law and its fundamental ground. Through their respective readings of Kafka – Derrida’s reading of “Before the Law” and Lyotard’s reading of “In the Penal Colony” – both attempt to delineate how the specific nature of the ground of the law determines the way in which an individual becomes subject to the law. Despite the enigmatic nature of their discourses, their comparison reveals converging and diverging trajectories in their ethical reflections as they push toward thinking the limits of lawfulness. Through such a comparative study of their texts, this exploration aims to unveil the shared fugitive vector of their ethical contemplations within the post-structuralist framework.

Investigation of language teacher’s identity experiences in adopting the ‘participatory’ approach through active learning spaces in undergraduate education writing classrooms

The purpose of this paper is to explore how two English Language Teachers (ELT) adapt their identity to face the new institutional reform of participatory approach classrooms at a University in the UAE. Using a post-structural framework, it examines the dynamics between teacher identity, agency, and structure to understand how these affect the professional experiences of teachers in the face of an institutional reform. The study adopted the qualitative approach; the data of the study was collected through an interview with two ELT teachers who volunteered to teach in the Active Learning Spaces and were simultaneously teaching in the traditional lecture rooms during the same semester. Both teachers were female and had taught the language to students in an English as a Second Language (ESL) context for more than 5 years. The findings of the study indicate that despite having similar contexts of reform, teachers’ ‘selves’ were affected by the change and dealt with them in multiple ways. The findings of this study provide insights into the dichotomy of two different pedagogies that exist in one workplace. Such disparities exist in many educational institutes around the world due to rapid globalization and open-border policies practiced in higher education. This study provides insight into how institutional reforms can present obstacles for instructors and therefore need to be addressed.

Laypeople’s Perceptions of Sexuality Education with Young Children Insights from a Convenient Sample of the Greek Orthodox Community

The current study examined laypeople’s perceptions of sexuality education with young children in Greece. This exploratory qualitative web research used data from a convenience and snowball sample where respondents answered the question, “What do you think about sexuality education in early childhood (children aged 2–5)?” This study’s approach is grounded on a feminist poststructuralist framework permitting the exploration and understanding of power relations through analyzing participants’ written discourses. Reflexive thematic analysis was used in the current study. This study’s sample comprised 64 participants aged 19–64 (M = 36.22, SD = 11.02). Based on this study’s results, we identified three fundamental social discourses that influenced the issue of sexuality education in the early years in Greece: the concept of childhood sexual innocence, age-appropriate arguments that oppose sexuality education with young children, and parental influence. The current study questions the role of dominant social discourses acknowledging that they operate as social rules that exert power by creating structural silence on sexuality issues.

A critical examination of epistemological congruence between intersectionality and feminist poststructuralism: Towardan integrated framework for health research.

The theoretical perspectives of intersectionality and poststructuralism have contributed meaningfully to advancing issues of social injustice within the realm of women's health research. However, the question of whether the two approaches are epistemologically commensurate has been at the heart of a polarized debate within third- and fourth-wave feminist literature in recent years. In this paper, we draw on the extant literature to explore existing dilemmas within this debate and critically reflect on points of epistemological tension and congruence between the two perspectives. It will be demonstrated that intersectionality and poststructuralism, especially feminist poststructuralism, represent concordant theoretical perspectives and a synthesized theoretical framework for application in qualitative research into women's health will be proposed. We argue that an intersectional feminist poststructuralist framework contributes to a deepened analysis of women's disparate healthcare experiences, and the social mechanisms, power relations, and discourses that mediate these experiences, while offering avenues for advocacy and political praxis on a multitude of levels.

(Re)mapping the Inter-Philosophical Trajectories of Feminist Translation Theory and Praxis

The much celebrated and visibly interventionist Feminist translation theories and praxis that challenged the canonical norms of western translation theories more radically and heralded in the era of resignification in the field of gender and/in translation, is not an isolated upsurging of English experimental translation practices of Quebec feminist writings. Rather, like every text is intertextual in the poststructuralist frame work, the present paper seeks to argue that every philosophy is inter-philosophical, and the philosophical core of feminist translation is located in the theoretical premises of three major turns in literary and cultural studies i.e., poststructuralism, postcolonialism and feminism. Thus in the present paper an attempt is made to map the philosophical trajectories of poststructuralism, postcolonialism and feminism(s) to unearth those radical theories, concepts and categories that ultimately paved the way for the emergence of Feminist translation theory(s) and practice(s). Keywords: Feminist Translation, Poststructuralism, Postcolonialism, Feminism.

“Learn to Conserve Your Passion and Care”: Exploring the Emotional Labor of Special-Post Teachers in Rural China

In recent decades, the growing trend of post-structuralist research on teacher emotional labor has offered a discursive lens to elucidate rural teachers’ identities and their teaching practices. To date, however, few studies have explored the emotional labor of special-post teachers in rural China. Through a post-structuralist framework, this study aimed to explore the emotional labor of special-post teachers. Ethnographic qualitative data from a rural primary school in northern China showed that special-post teachers experienced various emotional conflicts embedded in multiple discourses. As teaching experience increases, special-post teachers obtain agentive emotional and practical responses to lighten their negative emotional burden for work. The findings suggested that the role overload and conflicts of special-post teachers were especially prominent in the social context of the urban–rural dichotomy. Emotional reflexivity and vulnerability of special-post teachers in their identity construction as educator, professional-service-provider, and also passer-by were also discussed.

Cuidado de pessoas idosas com incapacidades em Instituições de Longa Permanência para Idosos

ABSTRACT Objective: to analyze the constitution of care offered to older adults with disabilities, from Long Term Care Facility professionals’ perspective. Methods: this is a discourse analysis based on the post-structuralist framework. Participants in this study are professionals involved in the care for older adults, totaling 14 respondents, 13 women and one man. Results: from professionals’ perspective, there is a fine line between caring for older adults with disabilities and maintaining their autonomy. Care in which autonomy is restricted predisposes older adults to a process of dependency. Final considerations: caring for older adults with disabilities constitutes the challenge between caring and maintaining independence. Thus, older adult-centered care should be taken as a premise so that their individualities are respected.

Dressed for success or undermining the achievement? Material culture of recreational sporting events for women in Sweden

This article explores meaning-making and performances of femininity through material culture among ordinary women who engage in recreational sports races for women in Sweden, and the discursive effects for individual participants, and society at large. Positioned within a framework of discourse theory and poststructuralism, the study is based on a multi-method approach in data collection of written and oral accounts of race participants, auto-ethnographical notes, and material objects. The exploration shows that the female participants’ usage of sportswear and gear points to stereotypical gender identities that are tied to women’s shopping practices, which discursively undermine the physical achievement, while creating a female sports community. Linked to social class and resources, women can learn how to enhance their athletic practices and become proper athletes with the help of sporting clothes and gear – even when their bodies are weak, aged or malfunctioning.

Hope, vulnerability, and grief: An aspiring teacher's journey through teaching and Teach for America

This article utilizes a poststructuralist framework for conceptualizing how institutional practices and discourses shape teacher emotions. Part of a larger qualitative study examining the philosophies and teaching experiences of former Teach for America (TFA) teachers, this article explores one aspiring teacher's brief journey through teaching. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews examined Dominic's educational past, teaching experiences, and reflections. Structured as an emplotted narrative analysis, findings captured Dominic's emotion-laden transition into and release from TFA and teaching. This article contributes to teacher emotion research from a poststructuralist perspective by situating emotions within larger discourses.

Toward Empowered Identities: An Exploration of Female ESL Learners’ Literacy Through Digital Storytelling

This research explores the learner identity of female students learning English as a second language (ESL) at a public university in Pakistan through digital texts of identity (DTIs) created by them and learners’ associations of educational experiences across time and locations which impact their emergent identities. Following the poststructuralist framework on identity negotiation and “thematic” and “dialogic/performative” analysis, and image analysis framework by Kress and van Leeuwen, 33 DTIs were gathered and analyzed from 10 female ESL learners. The function of gender as a fundamental identity marker in educational experiences was investigated in particular, in order to demonstrate how social identity is established through multiple discourses. The study highlights DTIs’ ability to strengthen learners’ identities and promote more empowered identities through diverse learning environments. The main argument of the research is that female learners use digital stories to create an interpersonal space that expresses strong ties between their family and everyday locations, such as university, and the target language population, all of which shape their social identities as women and learners. The participants felt empowered by associating themselves with competent users of English making authority claims, developing their authority in and via their digital texts.

Absent and Problematic: The Representation of Fathers in the Program Policies of Organizations that Provide Family-Centred Services in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

Parenting education interventions and parenting programs are important for health promotion efforts among children and families; however, the majority of parenting programs are directed towards and attended by mothers. This is problematic because research has consistently demonstrated that fathers’ active participation in the family can have a positive influence on mothers’ well-being, children’s self-esteem, success in school, and interpersonal relationships. In this paper, using an intersectional poststructuralist framework, document analysis, and Bacchi and Goodwin’s “What’s the problem represented to be” approach (WPR), we analyzed the program policies of 12 organizations that provide family-centred services in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. We identified the following three discourses: organizations strive to be client-centred and provide choices; organizations want to empower their participants; and women need safe place to raise their families. Our analysis revealed that fathers are absent or represented as problems in program policies, and that this has consequences for not only fathers but also mothers and children.

Compassionate Discourses: A Qualitative Study Exploring How Compassion Can Transform Healthcare for 2SLGBTQ+ People.

Compassion can be seen as a necessary, but often lacking, concept and practice in healthcare. Due to the cis-heteronormative nature of societies, people who identify as Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (2SLGBTQ+) often experience health disparities and disparities in accessing compassionate healthcare. We aimed to explore the meanings of compassion in healthcare for Canadian 2SLGBTQ+ people. Using a poststructuralist framework, 20 self-identifying 2SLGBTQ+ participants were interviewed. Data was analyzed through discourse analysis. Three main discursive considerations are discussed, including (1) meanings and expectations of compassion in healthcare, (2) compassionate healthcare is not guaranteed, and (3) prescription for care: self-compassion for healing and health. The results provide insights into how compassionate healthcare is framed for 2SLGBTQ+ participants and how compassion is often lacking for them due to discourses of cis-heteronormativity and healthism.

Race-gender D/Discourses in Mathematics Education: (Re)-Producing Inequitable Participation Patterns Across a Diverse, Instructionally-Advanced Urban District

This paper uses quantitative analytics to study talk-based participation in 100 mathematics classrooms across one racially diverse urban school district in the USA. Using the EQUIP observation tool and hierarchical linear modeling, we characterize the quantity and quality of participation for students across 3025 coded turns, by race and gender. We found that in general, boys participated significantly more than girls. We also found that Latinx and Asian/Pacific Islander students had significantly fewer turns than Black and White students. To interpret these findings in context, we analyzed interviews from 29 district leaders using a poststructural framework organized around D/discourse.

Beyond Caster as object? Examining media constructions of Caster Semenya through decolonial thinking

ABSTRACT The popular media coverage of South African track and field star Caster Semenya showcases how colonialist discourses shaped the sexed, gendered, and racialised meaning of her public biography. Yet, when researchers study Semenya as their research ‘object’, does this act of inquiry reproduce the knowledge constructs of Western coloniality as well? In this article, we consider both issues by conducting and reflecting on our poststructuralist analysis of popular media coverages of Semenya’s athletic career, with specific attention to her dealings with gender-verification testing. We examine the discursive construction of Semenya’s public biography by popular newspaper outlets in the United States and South Africa from 2009 to 2019, arguing that both geopolitical locales maintained Western social binaries and scientific discourses concerning Semenya’s sexual identity in similar, yet distinct ways. Drawing from the poststructuralist methodology of intertextuality, we reflect on its capacity to deconstruct the colonial discourses shaping the cultural meaning of a non-Western athlete of colour such as Semenya, as well as its relation, as a method of knowledge production, to the epistemological legacies of Western coloniality. We also contend that by approaching Semenya as the ‘object’ of our poststructuralist framework, our analysis implicitly reproduced, rather than challenged, the Eurocentric subject/object framework of modern (Western) epistemology. Thus, our purposes are empirical, methodological, and reflexive as we seek to contribute to critical analyses of the constructed cultural meaning of celebrity athletes while subjecting our own research assumptions and frameworks to poststructuralist and decolonial deconstruction.

Beyond witches, mothers or wives

This paper examines how Manga can be used to counter mainstream historical narratives, taking Fumiyo Kōno’s In This Corner of the World as an example. The first half of the article addresses the connection between feminist historiography and power in a poststructuralist framework. Then, the focus turns towards the Manga to highlight some parallelisms between Kōno’s narrative and feminist history writing. Two main questions are examined: how she depicts womanhood, as well as the political connotations of setting the plot in Hiroshima during World War II.
 Keywords: feminism, historiography, Manga, womanhood, memory.

Digital mothering: Sharenting, family selfies and online affective-discursive practices

Posting about one’s children and family has become a routine practice for mothers on social media. The task of presenting oneself as a “good” mother is subject to the trouble of competing requirements around motherhood (e.g., neoliberal intensive mothering, feminine relationality) as well as family ideals which are unrealistic for many. These troubles are further complicated by sharenting discourses in which parental posting is seen as digital narcissism. This study examines mothers’ identity work in their talk about posting family photos to social media. Twenty mothers aged between 24 and 50 were interviewed using their family photo posts as interview stimulus. Using a feminist poststructuralist framework, the data were discursively analysed, paying attention to how identity trouble was produced and repaired in three constructions of mothers’ photo sharing which included: emotionally connected mothers; digitally relational mothers; and proud mothers. In these constructions, family photo posts were constituted as a selective process which performed relational work to rhetorically manage the networked audience by deflecting conflict. This included the digital repair of offline troubled identities to present oneself as “good” whilst avoiding class-based othering. How these findings offer a challenge to predominant problematisations of digital mothers is discussed.

“Track’s Coed, I Never Thought of It as Separate”: Challenging, Reproducing, and Negotiating Gender Stereotypes in Track and Field

In contrast to the sex-segregated model that dominates sport and contributes to its tradition of hegemonic masculinity, collegiate track and field typically follows a sex-integrated structure whereby men and women train, travel, and compete together. In this article, the authors examined how six collegiate male track-and-field athletes who are part of a sex-integrated team navigate gendered norms and hierarchies with a particular focus on their understandings of gender(ed) performance and abilities. Grounded in a feminist poststructuralist framework, the authors’ analysis found that although the participants were accepting of a sex-integrated training environment and challenged some gender stereotypes and instances of sexism, they simultaneously reified these same gender stereotypes by characterizing women athletes as “emotional” or “less competitive” and advocated individual solutions to institutional sexism.