ENGENDERING SOCIAL REPRODUCTION - MOTHERS IN THE EDUCATIONAL MARKETPLACE

This article highlights the centrality of women to social reproduction through a focus on the social and cultural processes embedded in pare ntal involvement. It argues that, in the context of a flexible labour market, middle-class reproduction increasingly has to be worked for an d describes some of the gendered class processes all the mothers were at times actively engaged in. While all the mothers helped children wi th schoolwork and talked to teachers, it wets only the middle-class mo thers who had the power and resources to act effectively to shape the curriculum offered to their children. I conclude by arguing that a mar ket system of education provides the middle-classes with a competitive edge, of which they will increasingly take advantage.