Exams and logics of producing good pupils in the middle classes

ABSTRACT

In this text, we analyze the opinions of parents from urban middle classes with high school degrees in the blogosphere, disclosed in relation to the 4th year exams, in the context of the growing investment in education and schooling of children carried out by this social group. The analysis of 38 posts and 311 comments, coming from 29 blogs published between 2012 and 2015 on Portuguese Internet pages, showed various thoughts on producing good students. These contradicted the supposed homogeneity attributed to the relationship of the middle class with school. We proposed an exploratory typology that seeks to account for different ethics of school work, models for monitoring the school work, and child-student conceptions coexisting within this social group.

Keywords:
Parent-Child Relationship; Middle Class; School Family Relationship; Academic Achievement