Exploring agency in marginalised occupations: school administrative clerks’ deployment of ‘participatory capital’ in establishing practice-based agency
Popular conceptions of school administrative clerks and school secretaries imply that they have little agency because they are deemed as subordinate support staff. However, the literature across a range of fields suggests that these subordinates exercise agency. We set out in this article to explor...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of the Free State
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Perspectives in Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/pie/article/view/4009 |
| _version_ | 1797265655851909120 |
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| author | Abdullah Bayat Aslam Fataar |
| author_facet | Abdullah Bayat Aslam Fataar |
| author_sort | Abdullah Bayat |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Popular conceptions of school administrative clerks and school secretaries imply that they have little agency because they are deemed as subordinate support staff. However, the literature across a range of fields suggests that these subordinates exercise agency. We set out in this article to explore the workings of subordinate agency. The article suggests that it is through their involvement and interaction in the socio-cultural context of the school that school administrative clerks, are able to expand the range of their agency and thereby reposition themselves at school. We employ the analytical construct ‘participatory capital’ to analyse how these clerks establish their agency and renegotiate their roles and places in the school. Based on a qualitative research study, we interviewed and observed three purposively selected administrative clerks in three primary schools in Cape Town. This article argues that, while the occupational identity of administrative clerks remains one of subordination within the bureaucratic discourse and their places of work, the selected school administrative clerks were able to extend the scope of their agency through their participatory capital.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:41:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2fdd2282a948407387a2abf9f5b258d6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0258-2236 2519-593X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-25T00:48:15Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | University of the Free State |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Perspectives in Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-2fdd2282a948407387a2abf9f5b258d62024-03-11T23:06:26ZengUniversity of the Free StatePerspectives in Education0258-22362519-593X2020-06-01381Exploring agency in marginalised occupations: school administrative clerks’ deployment of ‘participatory capital’ in establishing practice-based agencyAbdullah Bayat0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1796-9526Aslam Fataarhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6880-9223University of the Western Cape, South Africa Popular conceptions of school administrative clerks and school secretaries imply that they have little agency because they are deemed as subordinate support staff. However, the literature across a range of fields suggests that these subordinates exercise agency. We set out in this article to explore the workings of subordinate agency. The article suggests that it is through their involvement and interaction in the socio-cultural context of the school that school administrative clerks, are able to expand the range of their agency and thereby reposition themselves at school. We employ the analytical construct ‘participatory capital’ to analyse how these clerks establish their agency and renegotiate their roles and places in the school. Based on a qualitative research study, we interviewed and observed three purposively selected administrative clerks in three primary schools in Cape Town. This article argues that, while the occupational identity of administrative clerks remains one of subordination within the bureaucratic discourse and their places of work, the selected school administrative clerks were able to extend the scope of their agency through their participatory capital. http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/pie/article/view/4009School administrative clerksParticipatory capitalAgency |
| spellingShingle | Abdullah Bayat Aslam Fataar Exploring agency in marginalised occupations: school administrative clerks’ deployment of ‘participatory capital’ in establishing practice-based agency Perspectives in Education School administrative clerks Participatory capital Agency |
| title | Exploring agency in marginalised occupations: school administrative clerks’ deployment of ‘participatory capital’ in establishing practice-based agency |
| title_full | Exploring agency in marginalised occupations: school administrative clerks’ deployment of ‘participatory capital’ in establishing practice-based agency |
| title_fullStr | Exploring agency in marginalised occupations: school administrative clerks’ deployment of ‘participatory capital’ in establishing practice-based agency |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring agency in marginalised occupations: school administrative clerks’ deployment of ‘participatory capital’ in establishing practice-based agency |
| title_short | Exploring agency in marginalised occupations: school administrative clerks’ deployment of ‘participatory capital’ in establishing practice-based agency |
| title_sort | exploring agency in marginalised occupations school administrative clerks deployment of participatory capital in establishing practice based agency |
| topic | School administrative clerks Participatory capital Agency |
| url | http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/pie/article/view/4009 |
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