Teaching and learning about class as a tool for change

This research will examine the ways that young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds are experiencing rapidly increasing wealth disparities. Attainment gaps across the UK are increasing, as decades of austerity has meant that funding has been cut across the education sector, with poorer areas being most affected (Black et al 2019). As of December 7th, 2022, The Conservative government have scrapped The Schools Bill, which was intended to increase education standards across the UK. This follows a decade of austerity in the UK education system (Shaw 2019). Previous literature suggests that children from lower socio-economic backgrounds feel as though educational spaces are not 'for' them (Archer et al 2007), as well as demonstrating that there is a significant attainment gap between working class pupils and their middle-class counterparts (Hunt et al 2022). The scrapping of 'The Schools Bill' within the context of a cost-of-living crisis is indicative of the little policy provisions in place to support young people from poorer backgrounds to succeed in education.