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The Achievement Narrative and Alienation in School: A Typology of Academic Disconnection

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Title: The Achievement Narrative and Alienation in School: A Typology of Academic Disconnection
Language: English
Authors: Sean J. Drake (ORCID 0000-0003-3145-3937), Jeffrey Guhin (ORCID 0000-0003-1325-7190)
Source: Sociology of Education. 2026 99(2):117-133.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 17
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools
Secondary Education
Descriptors: Alienation, Academic Achievement, High School Students, Student Attitudes, Advantaged, Student Experience, Academic Aspiration, Educational Environment, Self Concept, High Achievement, Suburban Schools
Geographic Terms: California (Los Angeles)
DOI: 10.1177/00380407251381695
ISSN: 0038-0407
1939-8573
Abstract: Previous work on student alienation in schools has emphasized alienation as either a source or consequence of students' lack of achievement. We show, in contrast, how alienation is common to a wide range of students' experiences in school, including among "high-achieving" students. Drawing on over two years of ethnographic fieldwork in two disparate suburban high schools, we show how students' experience of alienation is linked to an exacting achievement narrative in U.S. schooling. We describe four forms of alienation: precarious character, unsound settings, impossible plots, and someone else's story, with the first three each connected to a different narrative element (character, setting, plot) and the fourth a more existential sense of narrative disconnect. We highlight the importance of alienation as a reason to de-emphasize schooling in solutions to inequality, making space for more radical politics of redistribution.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1501975
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sean+J%2E+Drake%22">Sean J. Drake</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3145-3937">0000-0003-3145-3937</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jeffrey+Guhin%22">Jeffrey Guhin</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1325-7190">0000-0003-1325-7190</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Sociology+of+Education%22"><i>Sociology of Education</i></searchLink>. 2026 99(2):117-133.
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  Data: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22High+Schools%22">High Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Secondary+Education%22">Secondary Education</searchLink>
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  Data: Previous work on student alienation in schools has emphasized alienation as either a source or consequence of students' lack of achievement. We show, in contrast, how alienation is common to a wide range of students' experiences in school, including among "high-achieving" students. Drawing on over two years of ethnographic fieldwork in two disparate suburban high schools, we show how students' experience of alienation is linked to an exacting achievement narrative in U.S. schooling. We describe four forms of alienation: precarious character, unsound settings, impossible plots, and someone else's story, with the first three each connected to a different narrative element (character, setting, plot) and the fourth a more existential sense of narrative disconnect. We highlight the importance of alienation as a reason to de-emphasize schooling in solutions to inequality, making space for more radical politics of redistribution.
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      – Text: English
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      Pagination:
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        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Academic Achievement
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      – SubjectFull: High School Students
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      – SubjectFull: Self Concept
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      – SubjectFull: High Achievement
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      – SubjectFull: Suburban Schools
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      – SubjectFull: California (Los Angeles)
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