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Poverty and place matter to children’s education. This book reports on and elaborates findings of the British Educational Research Association (BERA) Commission on Poverty and Policy Advocacy from the four UK jurisdictions of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and considers the implications for educational policy and practice. The book explores the different educational landscapes of poverty across the UK and highlights the importance of policy and place for educational opportunities and outcomes of young people living in poverty. The book presents research evidence from the four jurisdictions on the effects of poverty and policy on the education of young people and explores ways that schools and teachers in different parts of the UK try to mitigate the effects of poverty on young people.

This book provides a new study of ethnic segregation across English state schools in the period from 2011 to 2017. It examines whether patterns of school-level segregation decreased or increased over the period, how those patterns compare with patterns of residential segregation, whether particular types of schools are associated with greater ethnic separations, and whether socio-economic differences add to the geographies of ethnic segregation. We find that high levels of ethnic segregation do exist between the majority White British and some other ethnic groups such as the Bangladeshi and Pakistani, more so at the primary than secondary level of schooling, and increased also for the more affluent of the White British. However, there is no compelling evidence that ethnic segregation is increasing – instead, the general trend is towards desegregation and greater ethnic diversity within local authority areas and their schools. Nor is there persuasive evidence that ethnic segregation is exacerbated greatly (at least, not directly) by the present system of school choice because school intakes appear comparable to the characteristics of their surrounding neighbourhoods in their ethnic composition.

The rise of Far Right populism poses major challenges for communities, exacerbating divisions, hate speech and hate crime. This book shows how communities and social justice movements can effectively tackle these issues, working together to mitigate their underlying causes and more immediate manifestations. Showing that community-based learning is integral to the development of strategies to promote more hopeful rather than more hateful futures, Mayo demonstrates how, through popular education and participatory action research, communities can develop their own understandings of their problems. Using case studies that illustrate education approaches in practice, she shows how communities can engineer democratic forms of social change.

In the light of high-profile Supreme Court cases surrounding affirmative action, this book looks at the actors involved in the debate and what they are saying. That is, the book looks at who is setting the line of discussion in the Supreme Court by look at legal documents arguing for and against the case as well as the framing techniques they use to make their arguments noteworthy. Findings demonstrate that while supporters are made of a heterogeneous array of individuals and groups with a stake in affirmative action in higher education (e.g., students, professors, etc.), opponents are mainly represented by think tanks and other interest groups. Furthermore, this book finds that frames vary greatly between the groups, with supporters raising concern of what eliminating the policy will mean for minority students and opponents conversely arguing that such a policy is dangerous for our society and for those who merit inclusion into elite universities would not benefit from affirmative action. This book uses prominent sociological theories to put these arguments in broader contexts.

Neoliberalism has been widely criticised because of its role in prioritising ‘free markets’ as the optimum way of solving problems and organising society. In the field of education, this leads to an emphasis on the knowledge economy that can reduce both persons and education to economic actors and be detrimental to wider social and ethical goals. Drawing on a range of international contexts across informal, adult, school and university settings, this book provides innovative examples that show how neoliberalism in education can be challenged and changed at the local, national and transnational levels in order to foster a more democratic culture.

What are ‘British values’? Is a shared commitment to a particular set of values possible within a diverse nation? Is such a commitment necessary? If so, what should those values be and how do we pass them on to children? This book investigates the government’s recent requirement that teachers in English schools promote the ‘fundamental British values’ of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs. This requirement is part of national counter-extremism policies that now encompass schools and teachers. Drawing on lesson observations and interviews with teachers and other education professionals, in a range of primary and secondary schools, the book explores the different ways in which teachers have reacted to this requirement, and the wider social and political climate in which they do so. The discussion includes themes of nationalism, cohesion, belonging, multiculturalism, and citizenship, how teachers respond to diversity and how they teach values and education for future citizenship. The book investigates the contexts in which the teachers work, their priorities and the constraints upon them, as well as the marginalisation of citizenship education in favour of individual character education. The issues the book addresses around nation, cohesion, diversity and the role of schools in educating future citizens retain a fundamental importance within the current context of global population mobilities, and the growth of populism around the world.

At a time when public education and reform agendas are changing the way we approach education, this book critically examines the key issues facing the public with implications for education policy makers, professionals and researchers. Drawing on empirical evidence gathered over 20 years, the book confronts current issues about social justice and segregation. The book uses Arendtian ideas to help the reader to ‘think politically’ about education and how and why public services education can be reimagined for the future.

What has been done to achieve fairer and more efficient education systems, and what more can be done in the future? This book provides a comprehensive examination of crucial policy areas for education, such as differential outcomes, the poverty gradient, and the allocation of resources to education, to identify likely causes of educational disadvantage among students and lifelong learners. This analysis is supported by 20 years of extensive research, based in the home countries of the UK and on work in all EU 28 countries, USA, Pakistan, and Japan. The book brings invaluable insights into the underlying problems within education policy, and proposes practical solutions for a brighter future.

Thousands of children from minority and disadvantaged groups will never cross the threshold of a classroom. What can human rights contribute to the struggle to ensure that every learner is able to access high-quality education? This book explores how a human rights perspective offers new insights and tools into the current obstacles to education. It examines the role of private actors, the need to hold states to account for the quality of education, how to strike a balance between religion, culture and education, the innovative responses needed to guarantee girls' right to education and the role of courts. The book draws together contributors who have been deeply involved in this field from both developing and developed countries which enriches the understanding and remedial approaches to tackle current obstacles to universal education.