Who is Cindy? Aspects of identity work in a teacher-parent-pupil talk at a special school

• The article presents a case study of one teacher-parent-pupil (TPP) conference. Cindy, the pupil, has Down syndrome. A study of how people with verbal communication problems manage discursive practices that largely rely on the ability to verbally negotiate identity is clearly motivated, both from a theoretical and a more practice-oriented perspective. We found that Cindy's identity is described and talked about in terms of predefined aspects, codified in a written agenda. All participants oriented themselves towards some sort of cultural model of the ideal identity that does not have to be discursively justified. Cindy's identity is not only talked about, but also demonstrated and enacted in interaction. Her self-presentation is mediated by her mother, and this mediation is linked to the sequential organization of the turn-taking system and the way the participation framework becomes organized. Cindy's talked-about and demonstrated identity work does not only concern her as an individual. It is also a relationship presentation. The identity of Cindy as a pupil and a daughter implies a certain identity for a teacher and a mother. To help one's daughter present her identity in a favorable way is to simultaneously display the identity of a good mother. ⌐ Walter de Gruyter.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Tvärvetenskapliga studier inom samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AREAS

TVÄRVETENSKAPLIGA FORSKNINGSOMRÅDEN

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