ABSTRACT
Monica's story provides an important reminder that, in undertaking any form of school reform—in this case, gender reform—the broader social context and community relations have to be taken into account. In working for gender justice, while Monica takes into account the specific social and cultural issues and factors of inequity relevant to her particular context, she also deals with the typical day-to-day gender issues with which many of teachers are very familiar. In Monica's classroom practice, an awareness of how broader social discourses can perpetuate limited understandings of gender and identity informs her attempts to broaden students' perspectives and choices. Through civics-type problem-based activities, she aims to provide opportunities for students to develop 'the skills to be active citizens within a community'. Monica's story indicates that tackling issues of boys' education at school requires an analysis of the gender regime of the school alongside the broader gender order.
