Feminist issues in education: developing a theory of class and gender relations

The twelve publications submitted for this thesis constitute a group of essays completed between 1979 and 1989 on related feminist issues in education. Each publication contributes to the overall project of developing a theory of class and gender relations in education. Three stages in the construction of this theory are identified. These are: (a) a critical evaluation of theories concerning the social and cultural reproduction of class relations in terms of their applicability to the study of gender relations. (b) the construction of a feminist theory of gender that accounts for, among other things, the historical and class specific nature of gender relations in education. (c) an analysis of contemporary policy-making at central, local and institutional levels in relation to the promotion of equal opportunities for both sexes. It is suggested that explanations of the relationship between education, the economy, the family and the state based upon male class relations cannot adequately account for the patterns of female education. A range of new concepts more appropriate for the study of gender relations is developed. These include a theory of male hegemony and the concept of gender code involving processes of recontextualisation and different modes of transmission of gender relations through schooling. These concepts are applied to an analysis of the structure and content of the secondary school curriculum, family and school cultures, coeducation and boys' education. The approach developed here is contrasted with other feminist perspectives on gender and education and consideration is given to the ways in which these perspectives have influenced educational policy and practice. The approaches to sex equality of central government are compared with those underlying teacher initiatives in this area. Finally a strategy is offered for the promotion of sex equality through school-based in-service courses focused on the personal and professional development of teachers

Pedagogy, empowerment and discipline: comparative perspectives of novice teachers in England and Turkey reflecting on ‘the other’

This paper discusses the views of Turkish and British novice teachers on pedagogy and pedagogical relationships with school students when confronted with the pedagogical practices of the ‘Other’. Experiences of those practices were gained by novice teachers during an exchange visit for British and Turkish university students in 2008-2009. Data was collected through questionnaires and focus group interviews. Findings suggest that Turkish and British novice teachers initially constructed the ‘Other’ as very different from themselves. The views of members of both groups were heavily influenced by the cultural contexts in which they trained and worked. British novice teachers tended to take as axiomatic constructivist approaches to pedagogy and the relevance to successful pedagogy of listening to students’ voices. Turkish novice teachers questioned both, many seeing control and dissemination of knowledge as central to pedagogy and student teacher relationships

The Chondroitin Sulfate A-binding Site of the VAR2CSA Protein Involves Multiple N-terminal Domains*

Malaria during pregnancy is a major health problem for African women. The disease is caused by Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites, which accumulate in the placenta by adhering to chondroitin sulfate A (CSA). The interaction between infected erythrocytes and the placental receptor is mediated by a parasite expressed protein named VAR2CSA. A vaccine protecting pregnant women against placental malaria should induce antibodies inhibiting the interaction between VAR2CSA and CSA. Much effort has been put into defining the part of the 350 kDa VAR2CSA protein that is responsible for binding. It has been shown that full-length recombinant VAR2CSA binds specifically to CSA with high affinity, however to date no sub-fragment of VAR2CSA has been shown to interact with CSA with similar affinity or specificity. In this study, we used a biosensor technology to examine the binding properties of a panel of truncated VAR2CSA proteins. The experiments indicate that the core of the CSA-binding site is situated in three domains, DBL2X-CIDRPAM and a flanking domain, located in the N-terminal part of VAR2CSA. Furthermore, recombinant VAR2CSA subfragments containing this region elicit antibodies with high parasite adhesion blocking activity in animal immunization experiments