Nicholson (1994), a feminist critical theorist, uses and discusses critical theory to look at how:

schools in a capitalist society not only do not fulfill the functions they are widely believed to fulfill, but on the contrary carry out tasks odious from the standpoint of a democratic ideology …Schools, rather than providing a fair means for channeling young people of different capacities into different classes, legitimize existing class divisions construct[ed] on the basis of differences in inheritance. (p. 73)

Nicholson discusses the way schools perpetuate class privilege rather than help level the playing field for all children. As well, she comments on the public and private sphere in relation to family and institutions like the school and this is useful as a basis in understanding the present research and the complexities related to the lives of the participants.

The merit in applying critical theory in educational research has been pointed out as the issues of critical theorists should become the focus of educational activity. As discussed, much of critical theory is concerned with power since all discourses can have power effects. In Chapter 1, I provided Lewis's (1993) clear and easy to follow definition for the complex term discourse. Lewis explains that discourse is political, socially negotiated through power. It is judged by a set of social relations among differentially empowered individuals that produce and reproduce social structures. Important questions forming part of the discourse include who is to remain silent and which topics are not to be spoken. Although discourses may be challenged, some have materialized in institutions built in accordance with them. For example, schools as societal arrangements establish institutionalized roles which impose limits and conditions for the formation of subjects including literacy. Lewis also explains that women have often been excluded from the dominant discourse. In Chapter 4, I address the issue of how underlying power relations and interests of men may confine the interests of women. I also provide some specific examples of practices that construct oppression.