Article published In:
PragmaticsVol. 21:1 (2011) ► pp.127–144
School administrators’ discursive positioning in talk about deviant high school students
This paper presents the analysis of two school administrators’ discourse whereby they relate their experiences with deviant high school students. Analysis of interview data revealed that interviewees positioned themselves as caring and inclusive educators, who understood deviant students’ circumstances. They positioned students as victims of overwhelmingly negative environments, and portrayed school as a warm and welcoming space. Through this positioning strategy, they accounted for decisions not to suspend deviant students from school. The findings suggest that the administrators equated performance of caring identity with professional competence, which is a desirable membership category in educational discourses.
Keywords: Discursive positioning, Discourse analysis, Caring discourse, High school deviance, School exclusion, Because clause, Inclusionary discourse, Lexical choice
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.
References (29)
Atkins, M.S., M.M. McKay, S.L. Frazier, L.J. Jakobsons, P. Arvanitis, T. Cunningham, C. Brown, and L. Lambrecht (2002) Suspensions and detentions in an urban, low-income school: Punishment or reward? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 30.4: 361-371. 
Brown, C., and D.L. Rubin (2005) Causal markers in tobacco industry documents: The pragmatics of responsibility. Journal of Pragmatics 371: 799-811. BoP
BoPChristle, C.C., M. Nelson, and K. Jolivette (2004) School characteristics related to the use of suspension. Education & Treatment of Children 271: 509-526.
Cortis, J.D., and K. Kendrick (2003) Nursing ethics, caring and culture. Nursing Ethics 10.1: 77-88.
Cullingford, C. (1999) The causes of exclusion. Home, school, and the development of young criminals. London: Kogan Page.
Currie, D.H., D. Kelly, and S. Pomerantz (2007) Listening to girls: Discursive positioning and the construction of self. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 20.5: 377-400.
Davies, B., and R. Harré (1999) Positioning and personhood. In R. Harré & L. Van Langenhove (eds.), Positioning theory. Oxford: Blackwell, pp.32-52.
DeWit, D.J., D.R. Offord, M. Sanford, B.J. Rye, M. Shain, and R. Wright (2000) The effect of school culture on adolescent behavior problems: Self esteem, attachment to learning, and peer approval of deviance as mediating mechanisms. Canadian Journal of School Psychology 16.1: 15-38.
Dodge, K.A., T.J. Dishion, and J.E. Lansford (2006) Deviant peer influences in intervention and public policy for youth. Social Policy ReportXX. 1: 3-19. Available from [URL]
Domitrovich, C.E., and K.L. Bierman (2001) Parenting practices and child social adjustment: Multiple pathways of influence. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly 471: 235-263.
Fairclough, N. (2001) Language and power (2nd ed.). Essex, UK: Pearson Education.
Fontana, A., and J.H. Frey (2005) The interview. From neutral stance to political involvement. In N.K. Denzin & J.P. Gee, (1999) An introduction to discourse analysis. Theory and method. London: Routledge.
Goldstein, L.S., and D. Freedman. (2003) Challenges enacting caring teacher education Journal of Teacher Education 54.5: 441-454.
Gustafsson, C., M. Asp, and I. Fagerberg (2009) Municipal night nurses’ experience of the meaning of caring. Nursing Ethics 16.5: 599-612.
Halford, J.M. (1996) Policies for safety, caring, and achievement. InfoBrief, 61. Retrieved July 2009 from [URL]
Heckert, A., and D. Heckert (2002) A new typology of deviance: Integrating normative and reactivist definitions of deviance. Deviant Behavior 23.5: 449-479.
Jung Song, J. (1996) Causatives and causation. A universal typological perspective. London: Longman.
Noddings, N. (1991) The challenge to care in schools. An alternative approach to education. NY: Teachers College Press.
Poggenpoel, M., N. Van Der Linde, and L. Zeeman (2002) An introduction to a postmodern approach to educational research: Discourse analysis. Education 123.1: 96-103. Retrieved June 14, 2005, from [URL].
Pomerantz, A. (1973) Extreme case formulations: A new way of legitimating claims. In G. Burton, P. Drew, & J. Heritage (eds.) Human Studies (Interaction and Language Use special issue) 91: 219-30.
Reid, K. (2008) National attendance and behaviour review (NBAR). Department for children, education, lifelong learning and skills. Accessed November 8, 2009 from [URL]
Rosenthal, B.S., and W.C.Wilson (2003) The association of ecological variables and psychological distress with exposure to community violence among adolescents. Adolescence 38.151: 459-479.
Shore, R.M. (1996) Personalization: Working to curb violence in an American high school. The Phi Delta Kappan 77.5: 362-363.
Sims, J., R. Bowen, and D. Holtom (2008) Rapid evidence assessment of the interventions that attempt to improve behaviour and attendance in schools and other learning settings. Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, UK: People and work unit. Retrieved November 2009 from [URL]
Søreide, G.E. (2006) Narrative construction of teacher identity: Positioning and negotiation. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice 12.5: 527-547.
Townsend, B.L. (2000) The disproportionate discipline of African American learners: Reducing school suspensions and expulsions. Exceptional Children 66.3: 381-391.
Trinidad and Tobago. Ministry of Education. (2002). SEMP baseline survey 2002. Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Wood, L.A., and R. Kroger (2000) Doing discourse analysis. Methods for studying action in talk and text. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage. BoP
Youngstrom, E., M.D. Weist, and K.E Albus (2003) Exploring violence exposure, stress protective factors and behavioral problems among inner-city youth. American Journal of Community Psychology 321: 115-129.