State Schooling and the Reproduction of Social Inequalities: Contesting Lived Inequalities through Participatory Methods

This book critically examines the role of state schooling in the reproduction of social class inequalities in the UK, combining critical ethnographic methods with participatory and visual research to foreground the experiences and recollections of working-class adults. It theorizes these experiences using Marxist, Bourdieusian, and Freirean frameworks to uncover relations of power and illustrate how schooling has reduced individual agency and sustained lived inequalities. By creating space for a Visual Intervention within Critical Ethnography (VICE), the book demonstrates that working-class struggles are not permanent and that agency can be activated. It also addresses an important need by centering research from the lived educational experiences of the working class, particularly working-class adults. The book makes a unique theoretical and methodological contribution using an innovative combined methodology approach, highlighting the potential of empowering disadvantaged individuals by raising critical consciousness.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 166 pages
Publication date: 01 July 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book delves into a comprehensive analysis of the role of state schooling in perpetuating social class inequalities in the United Kingdom. Through a unique blend of critical ethnographic methods, participatory and visual research, it forefronts the experiences and recollections of working-class adults concerning their past schooling. Drawing upon her own lived experiences, Jones employs an interdisciplinary analysis of Marxist, Bourdieusian, and Freirean frameworks to unravel the intricate relations of power and illustrate how schooling has diminished individual agency and reinforced enduring lived inequalities. By incorporating a Visual Intervention within Critical Ethnography (VICE), alongside her examination of class and society, Jones successfully sheds light on the notion that working-class struggles are not fixed and that agency can be activated. Moreover, the book addresses a critical need by centering research from the lived educational experiences of the working class, particularly working-class adults. Through a novel combined methodology approach, the text makes a distinctive theoretical and methodological contribution, highlighting the potential for empowering disadvantaged individuals by fostering critical consciousness.

While the book primarily focuses on the experiences of adults, its insights hold significance for all sectors of education and will captivate academics, researchers, and students with interests in the sociology of education, research methods in education, social inequality, social class, and education politics.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032192222