Becoming a ‘better’ elite: the proliferation and discourses of educational travel programmes for elite youth
Becoming a ‘better’ elite: the proliferation and discourses of educational travel programmes for elite youth
This chapter shares findings from a study exploring the recent proliferation of supplemental and substitutional educational travel programs for elite high school students. What types of programs exist? What discourses circulate through these programs’ promotional websites? What types of elite identities do these discourses reflect and construct? This chapter argues that these programs function in part as a modern form of class work that reflects elite schools’ and families’ shifting strategies to ensure a mark of distinction for their children. These programs reflect attempts to help students become morally “better” people by emphasizing profound personal transformation and critiquing conventional elite schooling—all while reassuring families that participating in these programs will not harm their children’s elite status as “better” than others in a social hierarchy.
Keywords: discourse, elite identity, supplemental education, educational travel
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