Diane Reay

The increasing international interest in pupil consultation has been partly fuelled by the encouragement of personalised/individualised learning strategies and the involvement of pupils in their learning. Drawing on an in-depth study which consulted eight to fourteen year old pupils from a variety of ethnic and class backgrounds in different school settings, the book:offers a sociological study of learning through an exploration of the social inequalities in the control pupils have over their learningidentifies, from a pupil’s perspective, the social conditions of learning within contemporary performance-oriented school culturesexplores the ways in which the social conditions of learning differ for pupils according to their gender, race, social class and achievement levelsidentifies the ways in which pupils are being consulted by teachers and the social conditions for successful consultation. This book will appeal to masters and doctoral students in gender studies and equality studies/human rights programmes, as well as academics and researchers around the world.

Education is supposed to level the playing field, and yet for many working-class children inequalities in the classroom in fact deepen the divide. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds are almost four times more likely to be excluded from school than their wealthier peers and many are struggling in an educational environment increasingly concerned with discipline. In this substantially revised and updated edition of her bestselling book, Diane Reay – herself working class turned Cambridge professor – investigates why we educate social classes so differently. Drawing on extensive interviews with working class children and young people, Miseducation offers a sharp critique of how class identity, social mobility, and entrenched inequalities shape educational outcomes. It also examines the increasing focus on control and discipline in UK schools and charts the impact of policies like academies on working-class students. In a new chapter, Reay draws lessons from educational systems around the world, while a second presents clear recommendations for creating a system that supports every child’s potential. Insightful and thought-provoking, this book is essential reading for anyone invested in the future of education and social equity.

In this book, part of the 21st Century Standpoints series published in association with the British Sociological Association, Diane Reay, herself working class turned Cambridge professor, brings Brian Jackson and Dennis Marsden’s pioneering Education and the Working Class from 1962 up to date for the 21st century. The book addresses the urgent question of why the working classes are still faring so much worse than the upper and middle classes in education, and vitally – what we can do to achieve a fairer system.