Miseducation
Inequality, Education and the Working Classes
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Bristol University Press
Publishing:28th Apr '25
£12.99
This title is due to be published on 28th April, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
This paperback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£13.99(9781447330653)
Education is supposed to level the playing field, and yet for many working-class children inequalities in the classroom in fact deepen the divide. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds are almost four times more likely to be excluded from school than their wealthier peers and many are struggling in an educational environment increasingly concerned with discipline. In this substantially revised and updated edition of her bestselling book, Diane Reay – herself working class turned Cambridge professor – investigates why we educate social classes so differently.
Drawing on extensive interviews with working class children and young people, Miseducation offers a sharp critique of how class identity, social mobility, and entrenched inequalities shape educational outcomes. It also examines the increasing focus on control and discipline in UK schools and charts the impact of policies like academies on working-class students. In a new chapter, Reay draws lessons from educational systems around the world, while a second presents clear recommendations for creating a system that supports every child’s potential.
Insightful and thought-provoking, this book is essential reading for anyone invested in the future of education and social equity.
“I’m sad that this second edition is still needed but thank goodness for Diane Reay’s updating of this important and powerful book.” Kate E. Pickett, University of York
“Incredibly insightful and passionate – Diane Reay really does get class. Mandatory reading for anyone proclaiming greater equity in education.” John Smyth, University of Huddersfield
“An inspiring and hopeful book [which] commands us as educators to make schools places of nurture, creativity and inspiration, not places where fear of failing is the daily diet of all children, especially working-class children.” Kathleen Lynch, University College Dublin and author of Care and Capitalism and A Critique of Human Capital and Carelessness in Education
“No one has done more than Diane Reay to confront the complex emotions in living class inequalities in education. Her heartbreaking volume bears damning witness to neoliberalism’s contributions to the injuries of class.“ Lynne Layton, Harvard Medical School
“A must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the systemic mechanisms driving social inequality in education.” Mieke Van Houtte, Ghent University
"Passionate, provocative and deeply troubling, this book examines contemporary working-class education.... should be required reading for politicians of both the left and especially the right." Tim Strangleman, University of Kent
"Excellent text, highly relevant and accessible to all." Caroline Lewis, UWTSD
“Miseducation is freshly updated, and it offers a highly readable and compelling analysis from one of the very best educational scholars of our time. Highly recommended!” Annette Lareau, University of Pennsylvania
"Intellectually compelling and inspiring in the way it systematically exposes the myth of meritocracy in economically unequal societies. It will inspire those who read it to work cooperatively for social justice both in education and society." Kathleen Lynch, University College Dublin, School of Education
ISBN: 9781447371205
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
224 pages
Second Edition