ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the school as a context for the development of masculine identities among boys. Schools, like all institutions, are thoroughly gendered in their own organisation and practice. Curriculum content is the third brick in the wall of the gendered institution of schooling. The most important contributions to understanding masculinity in schools have come from a series of ethnographic and interview studies into boys' school cultures. The primary school boys interviewed had a pragmatic view of school. In the group interviews the common story was that school was boring the strongest comment being that it's a load of rubbish. The stereotyped dichotomy between nerds and scruffs presented problems for the boys interviewed, as most of them were quite accepting of and even committed to the notion that school meant doing work and that that was important. This review of masculinities in schools shows how varied are the styles and practices of boys' developing sense of themselves.
