Schooling The Smash Street Kids

Schooling the Estate Kids chronicles the trajectory of one Kent secondary school which was twice dubbed ‘the worst school in England’ in the national press. Serving a high poverty neighbourhood, The Ramsgate School was challenged by national targets, low levels of attainment of the school intake at 11 and difficulties of recruitment and retention of quality staff. The local housing estates were amongst the most deprived in the country and shared the school’s negative reputation. The school became The Marlowe Academy in 2005 with new leadership and a new building (in 2006). Student numbers increased, attendance and attainment came close to the national average and the atmosphere in the school was transformed, though the characteristics of the pupils in terms of special needs (twice the national average) and deprivation (more than twice the national average entitled to free school meals) remained unchanged. This book questions the notion that school improvement and school leadership are key areas to focus on when the socio-economic circumstances of pupils, poverty, dwarf all the other factors which are related to the educational progress of students.

First published in 1998, this volume is based upon an ethnographic study of white and black in a mixed comprehensive school conducted during the 1980s and explores differentiation in the classroom, looking at gender, colour and class differences within groups of students. The findings are discussed in the light of the strong debate within the sociology of education that took place during the 1970s and 1980s concerning academic achievement and underachievement. Amanda Palmer reveals, in contribution to this debate, that class origins played a primary role in the formation of pupils’ attitudes towards school and that class, race and gender were involved in how teachers reacted to pupils

Originally published in 1992. This book presents research carried out by the author in four inner-city primary schools. It documents the experiences of black and Asian children, particularly in interaction with their white peers, and with their teachers, from both observation and interviews with parents, teachers and the children. It presents cases both inside and outside the classroom. The children’s academic progress is also examined, and the book considers the link between home and school. The concluding chapter is concerned with measures for promoting ‘good practice’ in the primary school context.

Thirteen major educationalists offer semi-autobiographical accounts of their own influential research work, focusing on the practical and personal realities of the research process. Authors such as Barbara Tizard and Martin Hughes, Stephen J. Ball, David Reynolds and Peter Mortimore discuss their approaches to aspects of research from conception and funding of the project to information gathering and analysis, writing up and publishing.

What is educational research? What are its current approaches, methods and methodologies? How should existing literature be reviewed and evaluated critically? What are the key philosophical debates in and on educational research? How should research in education be conducted and how should it be presented? And what is the value of such research? With this extensively revised edition of a much-admired and engaging guide, Jerry Wellington provides clear and constructive answers to these questions, complete with detailed advice on methods such as interviewing, surveys, documentary research and the use of focus groups. Thoroughly overhauled and updated, this edition includes new case studies, helpful 'theory summary' boxes, and a range of activities or 'points to ponder' to foster engagement with current issues. Retaining the clarity and concision of the previous edition, and its approachable and practical style, Jerry Wellington provides an invaluable text for all those engaged in educational research.

What is childhood? In recent years, a cluster of critical and complex ideas have emerged around the nature of biological, social and psychological growth in the early years, reflecting the changing nature of adult - child relations, and political and cultural understandings of childhood in the twenty-first century. In this clear and concise book, Michael Wyness offers fresh insights into the current state of play within childhood studies. Drawing on work from a number of disciplines including sociology, geography and history, he discusses the contested terrain of theoretical and research advances with particular attention to the notion of children’s agency and the concept of global childhoods. Key conceptual debates are illustrated through a range of contemporary issues that affect children and adults, including inequality, child abuse, ill-health, child labour, sexualization and identity formation. This book will appeal to students and academics within the fields of sociology, education, geography, history and childhood studies.

Gender studies are a key lens through which education has been examined in the past forty years, having become an accepted and popular subfield in educational foundations studies. Moreover, scholars in gender and education have made tremendous contributions well beyond education, influencing humanities and social sciences scholars across the academy. Hearing the stories of these scholars—their development, education, important works, and thoughts on the future—offers unique insights into the genesis and growth of the field and gives new scholars an overview of advances made. Leaders in Gender and Education: Intellectual Self-Portrais does just that, showing the history of gender and education through the eyes of 16 of its leaders. By recounting their experiences and scholarly work, they trace the development of feminist and profeminist research on girls, on boys, and on the issues shaping both gender and education—issues like race, sexuality, neoliberalism, globalization, and more. Importantly, the volume has a global focus, including scholars from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. This diversity gives readers a broad sense of the progress of gender scholarship in education around the world. Each essay provides students and researchers alike with not only background on the 16 scholars included, but also the lists of major works—chosen by contributors themselves—direct readers to some of the most important scholarship on gender and education. Taken together, further, the contributors’ thoughts on the future of the field provide glimpses of productive directions for studies of gender and education.

One problem which continues to absorb social scientists is the way in which so much social deprivation stems from racial or class status. The discussion in this book is developed in two ways: firstly, careful attention is given to an examination of the way minority groups create and maintain collective identities and action. Secondly, the relationship between this movement and such topics as racism in schools, schooling, unemployment and West Indian involvement in sporting rather than academic activities is analysed, together with the nature of the educational experience of different class and gender groups.

Mini-set L: Sociology of Education re-issues 48 volumes originally published between 1928 and 1990. The books in this mini-set discuss: Teaching and social change, research processes in education, class, race, culture and education, marxist perspectives in the sociology of education, the family and education, the sociology of the classroom and school organization.