Abstract:
The term ‘elite boys’ schools’ carries substantial cultural and political meanings, constituted by decades of inequitable school funding, patriarchal systems that benefit attendees beyond their school age across a range of institutions, and contemporary recognitions of acts of violence that have not been adequately named or prosecuted. In recent years, the level of public scrutiny on these schools’ protocols and subjects has increased and some school leaders and teachers have responded by making increasing efforts to support and promote educational content that recognises and arguably undermines divides around class, gender, race, and other intersections of dis/advantage. Although the schools and structures themselves still uphold structures of privilege, those that work within them believe that these interactions may provoke more diverse conversations and representations within school communities, and that they act as a form of resistance to dominant cultures. This paper explores the interventions that teachers articulate as being important and ‘making a difference’ in their interactions with students. Utilising focus group data from a multi-year, community-led research study on school cultures of gender and sexuality, I demonstrate the ways that some teachers within one ‘elite boys school’ attempt to confront and undermine some of the outputs of patriarchal school cultures including sexual and gendered violence. Working within the constraints of their school, teachers articulate the ways that intervene in particular ‘teachable moments’ around gender and sexuality, but also how their efforts are constrained by their institutional context. This paper invites a nuanced conversation around the continuing presence and impact of ‘elite boys schools’, as well as the practices of those within them.