Masculinities and school performance: The construction of hierarchies among peers

Abstract

Seeking to understand the collective conceptions of masculinity among boys and the possible implications of such conceptions on their school performance, we conducted an ethnographic research with working-class students aged approximately ten years, from a public school in São Paulo city, Brazil, using observations and interviews. We identified that being a “good student” did not contradict the affirmation of the masculinity of those boys; on the contrary, school engagement was recognized as a positive aspect among them. Nonetheless, to be “good students”, boys needed to be able to play in the power relationships between peers, drawing on practices of valued masculinities, and (re)constructing school and social hierarchies in their interactions.