Reputation+and+Respectability+How+Competing+Cultural+Systems+Affect+Students'+Performance+in+School

This article produced Margaret A. Gibson was a review of the ways in which social identities such as ethnicity, gender, peer groups and social class all intersect to create different perceptions and experiences amongst school-age children, parents and families with regards to the formal education system in St. Croix. While the students' performance in school was carefully studied in terms of quantifiable measures (i.e. test assessments and graduation rates) the researcher further employed an ethnographic approach, conducting informal interviews with children, parents and teachers. In this way, the researcher was able to pick up on the subtle differences that further explained why some groups were able to succeed, while letting others "fell through the cracks", so to say. Finally, the article illustrated they ways in which the current type of bureaucratic and hierarchical education system adopted from the west is not conducive to many of the cultural patterns that exist in St. Croix.

One of her basic findings was that there existed achievement disparities amongst students differed in terms of gender. Girls were more likely to receive higher marks, advance grade levels as well as graduate. In order to explain these disparities, Gibson further explored some interesting differences between gender roles in Crucian culture. One interesting note about the role of women in St. Croix is that they are expected to maintain the home, keep the family together all while being independent and not having to rely on a man. Furthermore, a woman who attains financial independence and stability is revered in the community. Therefore, girls who attend school have high incentives to achieve what Gibson referred to as “respectability”. Furthermore, because girls are expected to stay at home and maintain the households, school is seen as a sort of outlet for them to get out and socialize, creating another sort of incentive to remain in school.

Men, on the other hand, are known not to stay at home and were instead out in the community. Crucian men develop peer groups where “reputation” was everything. This mentality trickled down to the younger age groups of boys who rebelled in school as a way to challenge the system to gain the acceptance of his peers. While many of the boys interviewed valued knowledge, they believed that the current school system in place was not really teaching them anything so they instead went outside of the classrooms to gain experiences and learn on their own. One boy even criticized the shallow nature of the school teachings saying, "Girls ain't too smart listening to them talk. They get a diploma for never being absent.” (Gibson, 20) This sort of view regarding the “shallowness” of the education that is being disseminated through these school systems is common amongst Crucian boys.

Another one of her findings was differences further existed amongst ethnic groups in St. Croix. There are three main ethnic groups on the island: Crucian, Puerto Rican and Down Islander. Gibson noted that achievement differed between these ethnic groups. It was noted that Down Islanders and Puerto Rican boys tended to stay in school longer and had higher diploma attainment rates due to the idea that this was their only way to succeed through the system. As described in the article, Crucian men usually obtained the better jobs in society, which were often government jobs. This was said to be because the government “look[ed] out for more for its own,” (Gibson, 21) hiring natives first. Thus for other ethnic groups, education becomes necessary in order to transcend existing structures.

Some of Gibson’s other interesting points included the fact that girls who had babies were still able to return to school and obtain their diplomas. Having children enhanced a girl’s status into a woman who should be given greater responsibility and respect. Another interesting note is that the school personnel and parents (especially mothers) often clashed. Because as noted earlier, the family is the reflection of the mother, boys who were dubbed as “deviant” and “troublesome” were sometimes encouraged by their mothers to rebel. This stemmed from beliefs that teachers and principles discriminated against their children and this was a mother’s way to “fight back” and refrain from losing her respectability. Each one of these cultural dynamics is crucial in further understanding better ways to develop an education system in St. Croix that puts all children in the island in a better position to succeed.