Schoolgirls’ health agency: silence, upset and cooperation in a psycho-educational assemblage
Purpose: Since the millennium, manual-based preventive health programmes, drawing on psychological models of behaviour management, have dominated psycho-educational practices in school. The aim of this article is to study the health agency of 13-year-old schoolgirls participating in a programme for...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2018-06-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2018.1564518 |
| _version_ | 1819154027972132864 |
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| author | Anette Wickström |
| author_facet | Anette Wickström |
| author_sort | Anette Wickström |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose: Since the millennium, manual-based preventive health programmes, drawing on psychological models of behaviour management, have dominated psycho-educational practices in school. The aim of this article is to study the health agency of 13-year-old schoolgirls participating in a programme for improving schoolchildren’s psychological health in Sweden. Method: Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari’s theories of assemblages, the interaction between schoolchildren, teachers, the manual and psycho-educational techniques is scrutinized. The methodology of assemblage ethnography is used in the analysis of video observations of 13 course meetings. Results: Three salient attitudes in relation to the possibilities built up for the schoolgirls are identified—silence, upset and cooperation. The girls’ acts and stories question the psycho-centric, individualized and gender-normative approach used in psycho-educational programmes and make visible the relational and contextual aspects of schoolchildren’s psychological health. Conclusion: Children depend on multiple factors for their agency; the institutional networks they are involved in both allow and restrict their actions. The study demonstrates that focusing on children as health actors, in the sense that agency develops in the assemblages children take part in, can complement the knowledge base and question the predominant framing of psychological health. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T15:14:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3068e4e120fe48b2be6ad40267597582 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-2623 1748-2631 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T15:14:34Z |
| publishDate | 2018-06-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being |
| spelling | doaj.art-3068e4e120fe48b2be6ad402675975822022-12-21T18:21:47ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being1748-26231748-26312018-06-0113010.1080/17482631.2018.15645181564518Schoolgirls’ health agency: silence, upset and cooperation in a psycho-educational assemblageAnette Wickström0Linköping UniversityPurpose: Since the millennium, manual-based preventive health programmes, drawing on psychological models of behaviour management, have dominated psycho-educational practices in school. The aim of this article is to study the health agency of 13-year-old schoolgirls participating in a programme for improving schoolchildren’s psychological health in Sweden. Method: Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari’s theories of assemblages, the interaction between schoolchildren, teachers, the manual and psycho-educational techniques is scrutinized. The methodology of assemblage ethnography is used in the analysis of video observations of 13 course meetings. Results: Three salient attitudes in relation to the possibilities built up for the schoolgirls are identified—silence, upset and cooperation. The girls’ acts and stories question the psycho-centric, individualized and gender-normative approach used in psycho-educational programmes and make visible the relational and contextual aspects of schoolchildren’s psychological health. Conclusion: Children depend on multiple factors for their agency; the institutional networks they are involved in both allow and restrict their actions. The study demonstrates that focusing on children as health actors, in the sense that agency develops in the assemblages children take part in, can complement the knowledge base and question the predominant framing of psychological health.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2018.1564518schoolgirlshealth agencypsychological healthpsycho-educationassemblage ethnography |
| spellingShingle | Anette Wickström Schoolgirls’ health agency: silence, upset and cooperation in a psycho-educational assemblage International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being schoolgirls health agency psychological health psycho-education assemblage ethnography |
| title | Schoolgirls’ health agency: silence, upset and cooperation in a psycho-educational assemblage |
| title_full | Schoolgirls’ health agency: silence, upset and cooperation in a psycho-educational assemblage |
| title_fullStr | Schoolgirls’ health agency: silence, upset and cooperation in a psycho-educational assemblage |
| title_full_unstemmed | Schoolgirls’ health agency: silence, upset and cooperation in a psycho-educational assemblage |
| title_short | Schoolgirls’ health agency: silence, upset and cooperation in a psycho-educational assemblage |
| title_sort | schoolgirls health agency silence upset and cooperation in a psycho educational assemblage |
| topic | schoolgirls health agency psychological health psycho-education assemblage ethnography |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2018.1564518 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT anettewickstrom schoolgirlshealthagencysilenceupsetandcooperationinapsychoeducationalassemblage |