Disaggregating Student Resistances

Abstract

In this article, we look into student agency which challenges the existing structures and find that students assume such agency for a purpose: there is something they pursue instead of just resisting something. We raise some critical questions about the concept of resistance in educational thought based upon findings from two dif-ferent qualitative research projects: one in Arctic Finland; and the other in coastal Atlantic Canada. In our research contexts, we have found that students pursue re-storation as a means of self-regulation, relevant knowledge and trust in their own terms, and also pursue dialogue in which they are considered to be relevant actors. We conclude that the concept of resistance should only be used for intentional resistance, and that when there is such resistance, it should be considered to be a sign of seriously dysfunctional school environment which we conclude can best be addressed by place-sensitive, dialogical approaches to pedagogy and curriculum.