• strong student–teacher relationships • felt safety • student-centred pedagogies which promote responsibility and agency • academically supportive peer relationships • investment in the social and emotional aspects of learning. Yet many of these are undermined by ‘pedagogies of poverty’ prevalent in schools serving working-class communities (Lupton & Hempel-Jorgensen, 2012). In such places, pressure to secure exam results can drive schools to adopt approaches which seem like the most efficient way to get through a content-heavy curriculum and drill students to pass tests: an emphasis on teacher instruction, discipline, and on individual, silent work. Yet these weaken learner identity by making students feel anxious, increasing passivity, reducing agency and limiting opportunities for students to bond over shared academic outcomes and thereby develop peer relationships which support, rather than undermine, academic success. Ironically, this approach to education disengages and disempowers the very students who most need to feel supported, included, seen, heard and valued: white working-class students and others marginalised by institutional classism (and racism). The obsession with academic results squeezes out myriad other important aspects of education: enjoyment; wellbeing; creativity; collaboration; independence; success in vocational and creative subjects; and personal growth. This direction of travel marginalises the very students who should be at the centre of thinking about education. The implications from this research and the work of many others are clear. The system needs to reduce performance pressure, invest in the social and emotional aspects of learning, and promote inclusive mindsets and practices to enable all to engage meaningfully in a version of education which is enjoyable, and one which makes people feel seen and valued and able to proudly pursue a diverse range of careers. All this is known. The question is, will politicians listen?
REFERENCES Adams, R. (2018, June 22). Ofsted chief: Families of white working-class children ‘lack drive’ of migrants. Guardian . https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/jun/21/families- white-working-class-children-economic-burden-lack-drive-of- migrants Lupton, R., & Hempel-Jorgensen, A. (2012). The importance of teaching: Pedagogical constraints and possibilities in working- class schools. Journal of Education Policy , 27 (5), 601–620. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2012.710016 Simpson, E. (2024). Canary in the mine: What white working-class underachievement reveals about processes of marginalisation in English secondary education. International Studies in Sociology of Education , 33 (2), 246–265. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/09620214.2023.2274612 Simpson, E. (2025). The importance of relationships to white working-class students’ engagement with school. Pastoral Care in Education , 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2025.2554 598 QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. ‘If you’re not academic, what’s in it for you?’ Aside from academic qualifications, what do we want pupils to feel they are getting from their experience of school? 2. What other groups of pupils are similarly affected by the processes of marginalisation outlined in this blog post? 3. What do you think about the ‘pedagogies of poverty’ prevalent in schools serving working- class communities?
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