‘They just don’t seem to really care, they just think it’s cool to sit there and talk’ : laddism in university teaching-learning contexts

Jackson, Carolyn and Dempster, Steven and Pollard, Lucie (2015) ‘They just don’t seem to really care, they just think it’s cool to sit there and talk’ : laddism in university teaching-learning contexts. Educational Review, 67 (3). pp. 300-314. ISSN 0013-1911

Abstract

Over the last 2–3 years there has been a sharp increase in the UK in the number of concerns voiced about “laddism”, “laddish” or “lad” cultures in higher education (HE). Drawing on a project that explored laddism on a sports science degree in one university, this article explores constructions and understandings of laddism in HE, particularly in teaching-learning contexts. Undergraduates suggested that laddish behaviours in teaching-learning contexts included: talking and generally being loud; being a joker; throwing stuff; arriving late; and being rude and disrespectful to lecturers. Mature students (men and women) and women were particularly critical of these behaviours, and resented the ways they negatively impacted on their learning. The impacts of laddism on the lads themselves and on others are explored, as are the ways in which laddism is challenged.