Education and Social Mobility
Dreams of success
- Format:
- Paperback / softback, 188 pages, 234 mm x 156 mm
- ISBN:
- 9781858566139
- Published:
- 29 May 2014
- Imprint:
- Trentham Books
This original school-based research is combined with lively analysis of the concepts and issues entailed in understanding social mobility and change. It is essential reading for policy makers and everyone who is interested in the extent to which education can change and improve society. It presents discomfiting data and theoretical insights for academics and practitioners, and is an authoritative guide for undergraduate and post-graduate students following courses which deal with youth identities, education studies and social justice. The book raises fundamental doubts about current policy and proposes a constructive alternative for all our children.
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Kate Hoskins
Kate Hoskins is senior lecturer and programme convener for the MA Social Research Methods at the University of Roehampton.
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Bernard Barker
Bernard Barker is emeritus professor of educational leadership and management at the School of Education, University of Leicester, and visiting fellow at the Institute of Education, University of London.
CONTENTS: 1. Introduction; 2. Policy-makers, Education and Social Mobility; 3. Schools and Achievement; 4. Families and Children; 5. Aspirations; 6. Choosing the Future; 7. Conclusion; References; Index
This book provides a powerful analysis of social mobility and the role of education in closing the gap. Young people's rich narratives of their educational experiences, and their dreams and aspirations, vividly unfold in a series of accounts that are beautifully crafted to reveal a sociological imagination missing in mainstream social mobility research. We are made aware of the emptiness of government and policy rhetoric, and the importance of family, communities, and wider socio-economic influences in understandings of social mobility. Education and Social Mobility vividly illustrates the ways in which social mobility works, or, in far too many cases, does not work for young people. Its compelling and authoritative account should be read by practitioners, policy makers and parents.
