Using focus groups to give voice to school underachievers

Abstract

This paper analyses discourses on school failure of gymnasium students. Research strategy for establishment of dialogue with students is focus group. The method of analysis of the material obtained in the conversations with students is discourse analysis. First, two dominant strategies of focus group usage are discussed: as means for collecting data from subjects and as a social emancipatory practice. The prevailing discourses about school failure of students are mapped: the discourse of school as an insecure investment, the discourse of school marginalisation, the discourse of disinterest of students, the discourse of disinterest of teachers and the discourse 'school success does not have an alternative'. The concluding part discusses research implications on social position of students in power relations in education.

Rad se bavi analizom diskursa o školskom neuspehu kod učenika gimnazije. Istraživačka strategija za ulaženje u dijalog sa učenicima je fokus grupa. Metoda za analizu materijala, dobijenog u razgovoru sa učenicima je analiza diskursa. Prvo, razmatraju se dve dominantne strategije upotrebe fokus grupa: kao sredstva za prikupljanje podataka i kao socijalne emancipatorne prakse. Mapirani su preovlađujući diskursi o školskom neuspehu: diskurs škole kao nesigurne investicije, diskrus marginalizacije škole, diskurs nezainteresovanosti učenika, diskurs nezainteresovanosti nastavnika i diskurs 'školski uspeh nema alternativu'. U završnom delu se razmatraju implikacije istraživanja na socijalni položaj učenika u odnosima moći u obrazovanju.