While "separate knower" lower-set boys projected aligned but positive identities, many girls in the sample, including those who we might classify as constructed knowers, described themselves as insecure in mathematics. The girls in the top sets appeared less confident and more vulnerable to the opinions and actions of others, showing more similarity with girls in lower sets in this regard. This was the case even for Year 10 Rachel, who, as we have seen in Chapter 3, had been promoted from a lower set at the end of the previous school year. She enjoyed investigations because they allowed space for generating her own understanding:
Because you’re not just like being told do this, do this. You can like work out things for yourself and do it differently to how you normally do it.