Conflicted Identities: Challenging Discourses of Deficit Surrounding Working-Class Children's Speech

This project will explore the impact on working-class children of policies on the use of Standard English in schools. For some children, there may be a disjunct between their language practices at home and those expected in public arenas such as the school which could discourage their active participation in class. I will use an ethnographic approach to compare how children use language at school and in the home. This will enable evidence-based conversations with educational practitioners and policymakers about the creation of productive educational experiences for working-class children.