A conference paper presented at the Widening Participation Conference 2012 'Discourse of Inclusion in Higher Education' 24-25 April 2012, UK

1. ‘Liminal Learners’?
The education of Bangladeshi
girls in east London
Katharine Vincent
April 2012

2. Abstract
British Bangladeshi girls are often seen as a marginalized, vulnerable group
unlikely to succeed within the education system. Although achievement at GCSE
level has improved in recent years, they continue to under-perform at A-level and
in Higher Education, and are under-represented in the labour force.
This paper examines the educational experiences of girls at an east London
secondary school, exploring their perceptions of educational success and
expectations for university. The study draws on data gathered from students in
the final year of Sixth Form, and interviews with students during their first year at
university.
Through a narrative, case-study approach, it seeks to challenge preconceptions
of a group of young women whose voices are often excluded from the discourse.
It argues that more research is needed into the impact of cultural and socio-
economic factors on educational outcomes and the reasons why some students
are more successful than others, at school and university.

3. Discourses of Inclusion in
Higher Education
1. The aspirations and expectations of young British
Bangladeshi women in the Sixth Form at one east
London secondary school.
2. The realities of the transition to university life for these
young women and their peers.
3. Theorising education in global cities: culture, identity,
community, citizenship, belonging.

4. Hazel Grove School
‘a highly inclusive, caring school where girls develop into exceptionally
confident, articulate young women who strive for the highest possible
standards in all that they do’ (Ofsted, 2010)
• Predominantly (95%) Bangladeshi Muslim
• One of the poorest boroughs in the UK
• Many adults without basic literacy skills
• Worst household overcrowding in London
• 61% of children living below the poverty line
• Highest youth unemployment in London

5. Previous research into the education of
British Asian and Muslim girls
Phase 1 (1980s - 1990s):
British Asian girls do not achieve well in school because they are the victims of prejudice and
discrimination inscribed within the structure of the system and enacted by teachers and other
(white) students.
e.g. Wade and Souter (1992), Gardner and Shukur (1994), Ghuman (1994)
Phase 2 (late 1990s - early 2000s):
British Asian girls are starting to develop more independence and their educational
achievement has improved, but they are still marginalised and disadvantaged by the system.
e.g. Bhopal (1998), Haw (1998), Archer (2002)
Phase 3 (mid-late 2000s):
British Asian girls have developed multiple strategies of survival and resistance, and are
involved in ongoing processes of self-definition and identity construction.
e.g. Hussain (2005), Hussain and Bagguley (2007), Pichler (2007)

6. ‘Resistance through culture’
I set out to challenge these
misconceptions of Asian girls by
presenting a set of alternative
accounts directly from Asian girls
themselves. These accounts reveal
that, rather than being the passive
victims of oppressive cultures, the girls
are actively engaged in producing
identities that draw on both residual
cultures of the home and the local and
regional cultures they now inhabit.
Shain (2003) The Schooling and Identity of Asian Girls

7. Stereotypes and preconceptions

8. Stereotypes and preconceptions
Baker (2009) “All that dark material”: A corpus-based analysis of representations of Muslim women in the British press

9. Sumaya: There are many examples of how the media portray
Muslims negatively and target us such as news about family
killings related to Muslims. We ourselves have read articles with
headlines such as ‘Muslim husband who killed his wife and
children because of their western ways’ and ‘Muslim killed
daughter for the ‘dishonour’ of having a boyfriend’. And when we
look at articles about ‘other’ people, the headlines read ‘Father
arrested for killing 3-year-old daughter’ and ‘Man killed wife and
two young children’.
So why is it that news related to Muslims, specify the word Muslim
and in cases of other criminals it does not specify religion? And
then there’s terrorism and suicidal attacks where again they would
specify Muslims as terrorist on the news and for others they share
only what had happened and where. Strange!

10. Portraiture
I wanted to develop a document, a
text that came as close as
possible to painting with words.
I wanted to create a narrative that
bridged the realms of science and
art, merging the systematic and
careful description of good
ethnography with the evocative
resonance of fine literature.
Lawrence-Lightfoot (1997) The Art and Science of Portraiture

11. Critical Research
The researcher, even in social science research, is supposed
to remove herself or himself from the data as much as possible
and should not have a vested interest in the outcome of the
research.
Critical research, in contrast, is defined by the interestedness
of the researcher, more specifically by the explicit desire to use
research as a tool for social change.
…the work is geared towards producing knowledge in the
pursuit of action for change.
Duncan-Andrade and Morrell (2008) The Art of Critical Pedagogy:
Possibilities for Moving from Theory to Practice in Urban Schools

12. Aspirations
Politic ians and polic y-makers are very interes ted in as pirations . The s trong
as s umption is that rais ing as pirations will inc reas e educ ational ac hievement,
while c ontributing to greater equity and the UK’s ec onomic c ompetitivenes s ,
and that public polic y has a key role in ens uring that thes e ends are attained.
As pirations were a theme of many of the Labour Government’s polic y papers on
c hildren and young people. They were a key c omponent of The Children’s Plan
(2007) and in Aiming Hig h for Young People (2007), and the c onc erns rais ed
helped to s hape the 2009 Ins piring C ommunities programme. The c oalition
Government has c ontinued this interes t in rais ing as pirations , again bas ed on
the as s umption that as pirations are too low among dis advantaged groups .
However, des pite this politic al interes t, the links between as pirations and
educ ational and labour market outc omes are not well unders tood, nor the bes t
ways to rais e as pirations . The pres umption in polic y thinking is that high
as pirations imply a s ens e of c areer direc tion and a belief that upward mobility
c an be ac hieved through learning. This portrayal c an s ometimes s ugges t that
as pirations are es s entially individual attributes that are freely c hos en.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2011) The influence of parents, places and poverty on educational attitudes and aspirations

13. Aspirations of different groups
Strand, S. (2009) Race, sex, class and attainment at age 16: Actually it’s more complicated than that

14. Aspirations vs Expectations
Aspiration (what you hope for) and expectation (what
you realistically think) are not the same emotion.
“Nearly all parents have positive general
aspirations for their children and several
studies have shown that disadvantaged
children do not have fundamentally different
aspirations from their more advantaged peers”
Cuthbert, C. D. and Hatch, R. (2008) Educational Aspiration and
Attainment amongst young people in deprived communities

15. Aspirations of young women at Hazel Grove
The career I have chosen requires a university degree and my family and I have
seen how important a good education is for a stable future and job.
I want to do something with my life mainly due to the encouragement I got from
my family and friends. I have this goal to do something successful that will not
only make me feel proud but something I will enjoy.
I’d like to have a stable and well-paid job, and while I know this is not
guaranteed even if I do go to university, I believe I'd have a better chance of
attaining one. Also, I would just like to be educated to a higher level and feel I'd
enjoy going to university.
I love the subjects that I study and I want to learn then in more dept at uni. In
addition, this will help me to get a good job in the future.

16. Raising aspirations
Shamima: Last year I used to tell teachers that I don’t know
what I want to do and I might just be a normal housewife,
that’s what I said last year…. But ‘Star Academy’ gave me
the mentor who came up to me and was talking to me and
saying what I’m good at at what I’m really weak at. So that
helped me work out what I want to do in the future.
Sadia: …in the past I used to not pay attention as much as I
do now, and (Star Academy) made me realise that Year 11 is
a really hard year and you need to get your grades, leave the
school or if you want to carry on in the Sixth Form, and then
go onto your future.

17. Cultural Capital
Bourdieu (1973) argued that one's habitus develops in relation to
how much cultural capital one has; a person from the lower-class
is aware that people from that class tend to have little cultural
capital and that without cultural capital, they are unlikely to
succeed educationally. Therefore, lower-class students tend to
self-select themselves out of the college-going track on the basis
of their views of what is possible and what is not. On the other
hand, exceptional students from the lower class may see the
accumulation of cultural capital as a way to overcome the
obstacles that are typical for those in their class position.
Dumais (2002) Cultural Capital, Gender, and School Success: The Role of Habitus

18. Definitions of success
Aysha: In my opinion, success is achieving my goals,
learning new things, accomplishing and breaking new
boundaries.
Fahmida: Success is achievement, an outcome that one is
proud and happy about, an aim that was intended to be.
Bushra: From my point of view, ‘success’ would be a
favourable result, after working extremely hard and trying
my best.
Tamanna: To some success is fame and money but to me
personally, success includes gaining a degree at a top
university in an area of my interest – then landing a top job.

19. A lack of confidence
Fatima: I want to be able to achieve something in life yet again
I am finding it hard to achieve my A-levels so I am becoming
somewhat unsure about what I want to do later in life.
Abida: Obviously I aim high in terms of I want to go to university, I
want to get As, but I see a limit to what I can achieve, which
maybe I shouldn’t! Even if I go to a Russell Group university I
don’t know how successful I’ll be afterwards in getting a job or
when in comes to finding internships. I’m not that confident about
what I’ll do in the future.

20. ‘Bonding’ vs ‘Bridging’
Deprived communities with low aspirations often have high concentrations of
‘bonding’ social capital, characterised by strong social glue among group
members, such as close friends or family members. Social interactions can be
frequent, but generally the geography of these interactions is more limited in
scale (Buck, 2005).
Strong local networks are often a source of strength and support. However,
they can also constrain individuals to familiar choices and locations. Bonding
networks may predispose individuals to eschew experiences that might build
other forms of social capital and precipitate change (Raphael-Reed et al, 2007).
Our in-depth qualitative work revealed low levels of ‘bridging’ social capital in
our case study communities, meaning that young people often lacked the
advantage of a diverse network of contacts outside their immediate
neighbourhoods and social circles. For those interested in supporting the
formation of high expectations, this matters, because young people’s social
networks influence their expectations.
Cuthbert, C. D. and Hatch, R. (2008) Educational Aspiration and Attainment amongst young people in deprived communities

21. To go or not to go…
Which factors influenced your decision about whether or not to go to university?
60
50
40
Percentage of
students 30
Very important
Quite important
20
10
0
My parents Other The A My friends My
members school particular religion or
of my teacher or culture
family teachers

22. Parental support
Sumaya: I am expected to study at home without being told to do
so, we all sit together and share new things we have learnt nearly
everyday and have the opportunity to ask each other any
questions we may have, we play games that help improve our
general knowledge and vocabulary, they always share articles
and videos with me about interesting talks and keep me updated
with the latest on what’s going on around the world.
Everything they do is always beneficial and varied; they support
and encourage me with education, career choices, religion,
politics and those are what really make a person successful.
Anything I need to help me reach my full potential, my family have
always given me and by providing me with what I need, is how
they ensure I am able to succeed.

23. Parental support
Humayra: I come from a religious family, but I’ve never been
told ‘you’re a girl so you can’t do this’ or ‘you’re a Muslim so
you can’t do this’.
Some of the teachers at that school were almost feminist,
and told us all the time that as young Muslim women we had
to take up every opportunity on offer to us.
You also had people who wanted to keep you in a sheltered
lifestyle...and if that meant sometimes putting ambitions on
hold or whatever it was to ensure you were leading a
properly religious lifestyle, then so be it. There weren’t many
people who had views like that but those that did really really
annoyed me, and I just thought no, I’m not listening to you!

24. Education by proxy
Husnara: My dad always supports and encourages me with my school
work by ensuring that I spend my hours around school wisely such as
spending time revising and reading. He also makes time to work with me
during my revision, corrects my mistakes or expands on the things I
already know to allow greater understanding. He is frequently testing me
through notes I take during lessons and I feel that because he supports
me so much, that is what has helped me to succeed at school this year.
My dad was a top student at school and became a pharmacist in
Bangladesh but once he moved here to London, he gave up and always
expresses his regret for not starting the same career here in London. He
believes we are lucky and have it easy because those living in poorer
countries are not able to succeed because they do not have the
necessary requirements, therefore, have to give up which wastes a lot of
talent. That is what makes me appreciate the advantages we have here
in London and motivates me to work my very best.

25. ‘I was lucky…’
Humayra: …a lot of the friends I have, and some people I know, actually
have been a little less fortunate in terms of choosing what universities and
things like that that they get to go to because their parents aren’t
comfortable with the idea of them moving away from home.
And somebody said to me that actually wasn’t necessarily a class thing
rather it was, I don’t know, it’s just an Asian thing, which I don’t necessarily
agree with. I think it’s just because lots of people don’t have, lots of
people’s parents, especially in this school, don’t have the experience of
going to university outside of home and all that sort of thing.
But I was lucky because I managed to convince my parents and say
actually it’s very normal, lots of people do it, it’s fine, it’s probably going to
be very good for me, and I think they really understood that, so I was lucky
where lots of other people actually aren’t.

26. ‘They’re still cautious…’
Abida: Our parents want us to do well and they encourage us, you
know, obviously they want us to get As and good grades, but
they’re still cautious as well of where we go and a lot of people
won’t want them to move out.
...it’s not the parents, it’s that people will ask, like your relatives
and others will say you’ve let your daughter move out, and
obviously if you say they’re going to Oxford or Cambridge that’s
fine, but otherwise there’s this idea that you should stay at home.

27. ‘A cultured habitus’
Schooling, in particular, can act to provide a general
disposition, a turn towards what Bourdieu terms ‘a cultured
habitus’ (1967: 344). This process of educational
socialization has proved particularly effective for the
working-class students in our sample.
However … the working-class students’ turn towards a
cultured habitus was not due, in the main part, to the strong
support and active mentoring of their teachers. Rather, it
was predominantly work on and of the self.
Reay et al (2009) ‘Strangers in Paradise?’ Working-class Students in Elite Universities

28. The role of teachers
Nabila: Teachers at school really influence me and motivate me to do
well and they really push me to achieve great results.
Siddika: Brilliant teachers who are always there to help me with work
when I need them, by running extra intervention sessions and just
always answering my questions. I thought sixth form would be hard and
we’d be more independent and rely less on teachers but they are still
always willing to help.
Salma: I think all our teachers are really nice. I think the teachers are
impartial, I don’t think they stereotype us. They’re just really nice. I
really like all the teachers, here, they don’t judge you.

29. The role of teachers
Sumaya: … we feel that teachers have this perception that because of
our culture and we are females, we must be young women who are
disciplined and would never challenge authority. (Maybe this thought
comes from the ideology that Muslim men have control over Muslim
woman or Asians, and if we can accept that, then we must be
disciplined to accept the demands of anyone.) We are students who
accept instructions and advice but not ‘demand a person throws
because they are in a position to do so’. And because there are many
girls in the school who never question authority when they have every
right to, teachers tend to use the defence of us being rude and
disrespectful because we are the ones who speak up.

30. Achievement: British Bangladeshi girls

31. Participation in Higher Education
Runnymede Trust (1997) Black and Ethnic Minority Young People and Educational Disadvantage

32. Definitions of success
KV: Do you see yourself as being successful at school?
_____________________________________________________
Humayra: This year, yes, because I got into Cambridge and it’s an
unconditional offer, so in that sense yes but I have to say that last year I
didn’t really feel like that because I just missed out on my first choice
university.
_____________________________________________________
Abida: Um, not, well yes, I guess. I mean when I look at my university
places, I’m really happy with them, and yeah sometimes you don’t think
about it but obviously to get into Russell Group universities it’s obviously a
good thing, so yeah I am I guess.

33. Fair access?
Sutton Trust (2010) Responding to the new landscape for university access

34. What aspects of university life are you
looking forward to most?
Meeting new people (being in a school where the spectrum of
people is very limited, I can't wait to socialise with different people)
Being around other students who are just as enthusiastic about my
subject as I am.
Meeting people from different walks of life, exploring outside my
comfort zone.
I'm looking forward to meeting a more diverse mix of people, and
just being able to be educated at a higher and more interesting
level. Also, I'm kind of looking forward to having to be self-
motivated and take control of my own learning.
Meeting many people with different backgrounds from all over the
country.

35. Great expectations
Latifa: I genuinely believe that it makes a person, like me, it would
make me learn new things about myself by going university by myself,
and it makes me I think become a better individual, by living by myself,
I think that’s the whole purpose of university as well, learning new
things about yourself, gaining confidence and stuff.
Sumaya: At university, these subjects will be taught in more depth and
we are able to openly share our own views which we are looking
forward to. This is because there will be people from different
backgrounds and by allowing us to share our own views, we think will
give us the opportunity to speak about our beliefs and answer
questions people may have for us which could possibly mean that
those who hold negative and false ideas about us may start to think
otherwise.

36. Reasons for going to university
• natural progression
• economic reasons: job, salary, status
• independence
• parental wishes
• w n gtobc m btte mthr ad e br o thiro n o mn s
atin e o e e r o e s n mme s f e w c m uitie
• a desire for education and personal development
• following role models
• dl a in mr iae
e y g ar g
‘The Bangladeshi women in particular were more likely to give
instrumental or economic reasons for going to university.
They had their eyes on their longer-term careers, and
obtaining better paid employment than their parents had been
able to do.’
Hussain and Bagguley (2007) The role of higher education in providing opportunities for South Asian women

37. A sense of apprehension
Latifa: I think it will be a little harder, because not many young Muslim
Bengali girls live on campus away from their mums and dads...there’s the
scarf as well, which I think, I don’t think anyone would think, oh she’s in
the scarf and I don’t want to be her friend, but there is that fear of, she’s
different because she’s in the scarf...I think that’s the main reason I would
be scared because I feel as if I will be treated a little different.
Sumaya and Husnara: There are many challenges we will face, no doubt about
that. Of course there are the clear challenges that we believe many young
people will face regardless of background such as being more independent
and adapting to the new system. For us, there are a lot more other difficulties
that people from other places may not face. We come from a school and live in
an area surrounded by only female peers at school and majority Asians and
there’s also language and beliefs which will certainly create a culture clash and
many conflicts. …being a Bangladeshi woman from East London attending
University may be new to ‘some’ and they may have their own judgements
about East London and Asian people for whatever reason.

38. Positive experiences
Humayra: First term met my expectations for university quite significantly! I
expected it to be academically challenging and interesting and it was. It was
actually quite easy to be away from home and I didn’t get very homesick,
although I did go back home to celebrate Eid with my family. Socially, it was
better than I expected as I had a vague concern that I may be cooped up in
a library for the most of term, but I managed to get involved with the Union,
attend talks by interesting people, and made friends in other colleges too.
The only way that it was slightly worse than I expected was that our kitchen
is tiny and the duvet they provided was horrifically thin!! Apart from that, I
genuinely had few qualms.
…
I had thought that my detestation for ‘clubbing’ (eugh) may somehow make
me stick out, but fortunately, plenty of people hate being crammed in small
spaces with absurdly loud music, so that was fine. I also think I found it
quite easy to adapt in terms of practicing my faith, as Cambridge has a very
large, diverse and welcoming Islamic Society.

39. Negative experiences
Eman: … studying at post graduate level has been quite horrible. I
only go to university on Fridays and to be honest I really hate my
classmates! I feel so different wearing the Muslim headscarf and
dress that I really feel that it is the reason some of my male white
classmates just don’t really know how to talk to me.
I’ve been on the course for six months now and there are three
men that I have never spoken to! I actually cannot wait to be on my
school placements full time to just avoid them. I could be
completely paranoid but it really feels like we come from very
different worlds and so we just don’t talk at all.
I also remember a seminar we had on tackling homophobic
bullying in schools and I could just feel their eyes on me as if to
say ‘you’re Muslim and therefore you must be homophobic’.

40. Negative experiences
Latifa: I was in Aldgate the other day on the way to my auntie’s
house and some, this man was just making all these racists
comments to me...but I just don’t listen. I was born in this country,
you know, I’m not from another country and just because I’m
standing by my religion it doesn’t mean every Muslim carries a
bomb or straps a bomb around them!
Sumaya: We ourselves have to deal with terrible comments in the
streets; bunch of youths in the same bus as us shouting out ‘there’s
a bomb on the bus, everyone jump off’ and two middle aged men
passing by saying they are going to bomb every mosque in the
area. …By wearing the hijab you become more visible and due to a
lack of understanding about the hijab, we are perceived as
oppressed, passive and unintelligent. ... People are not staring
because the hijab is unusual to them; they stare either with disgust
like we’re assassins let loose and others may see us as a threat.

41. Negative experiences
Latifa: I found it really difficult - I was complaining to my mum, I was
complaining to my uncles, I was complaining to my friends, my
sister, everyone. I was just like, I’m enjoying the course, I’m
enjoying every module that I have. The thing is that my social life
was a bit of a no-no there because I found it really… what it is, the
thing is that freshers’ week, the way we get described it in school
and college, it’s nothing like that. You have to adapt into the uni
culture, the drinking and the getting wasted at night and then going
back to your dorm. That’s what you have to do to enjoy freshers’
week, otherwise there’s nothing else.
…
I think they came in with different intentions, to university. With me
I really want, you know, I want to study! Seriously, I want to get
my degree out of this, I’m there because I want to study.

42. ‘A sense of shock ’
… South Asian women were able to form strong friendships and support
networks with other South Asian women on campus. For them the issue
was the very small numbers of South Asian people on their courses
compared with their experiences of school and Sixth Form. Students
sometimes experienced a sense of surprise or shock in the first instance
as they noted that there were so few South Asian people at their
university compared with the schools and Sixth Forms. Some were often
the only students from their backgrounds on their courses and this was
particularly isolating. Many maintained strong friendships with other
South Asian women and for some these were an especially strong
source of support in overwhelmingly White environments.
Hussain and Bagguley (2007) The role of higher education in providing opportunities for South Asian women

43. Achievement in Higher Education
Brill (2011) ‘The Ethnicity and Attainment Gap in the UK HE sector’

44. Achievement in Higher Education
• Ethnic minority students are being systematically awarded grades and degrees
that are poorer than one would expect on the basis of their prior qualifications.
• We don’t know the factors that are responsible for this, but one can be
confident that they have nothing to do with the ability of ethnic minority students,
as evidenced by their prior qualifications.
Richardson (2011) ‘The Open University’s Research on Ethnicity and Attainment’

45. Building community
The mere presence of a group of black and minority ethnic (BME)
students does not automatically equate to a student community
where there is equal access, participation and opportunity. The
strength of the university community is based on what the students
identify with and if they feel they belong to something greater; that
they identify with the collective.
…the role that universities play in preparing and training individuals
to contribute to society is great, and it follows that, universities can
influence individuals to be more tolerant and empathetic citizens.
University is a space that greatly influences the individual’s political
and social consciousness and this community, though constantly
changing and evolving according to its members, is an important
location in building a successful multi-ethnic society.
Runnymede Trust (2007) Not Enough Understanding: Student Experiences of Diversity in UK Universities

46. Liquid Modernity
These days patterns and configurations are no longer 'given', let
alone 'self-evident'; there are just too many of them, clashing with
one another and contradicting one another's commandments, so
that each one has been stripped of a good deal of compelling,
coercively constraining powers. And they have changed their
nature and have been accordingly reclassified: as items in the
inventory of individual tasks. Rather than preceding life-politics and
framing its future course, they are to follow it (follow from it), to be
shaped and reshaped by its twists and turns. The liquidizing
powers have moved from the 'system' to 'society', from politics' to
'life-policies' - or have descended from the 'macro' to the 'micro'
level of social cohabitation.
Bauman (2000) Liquid Modernity

47. Writing Diaspora
Having been educated alongside their White
and Black colleagues, they demand equal
rights within the majority culture. In
acknowledging Britain as their home, they are
cultivating their own distinct values, interests,
meanings and ambitions within English society.
It is not a question of forsaking one identity for
another and choosing between a ‘Western’ or
‘South Asian’ way of life. Young British Asians
are therefore best understood as mobile in
linguistic, religious and cultural terms.
Hussain (2005) Writing Diaspora: South Asian Women, Culture and Ethnicity

48. ‘Special qualities’
‘such readings propose the contemporary
transnational and transcultural migrant as a global
hero-figure of almost messianic qualities, as a new
kind of fluid, complex, multiple, open, inclusive
identity, replacing old identities and cosmologies of
stability and belonging with the uncertainty of a
liminal position in-between two or several cultures.
By virtue of these qualities the transcultural migrant
hero is assumed to be endowed with a special,
inclusive vision and sensibility, a double-vision that
is particularly conducive for the heterogeneous
complexity and perspectival uncertainty of novelistic
modes of representation’
Moslund (2010) Migration Literature and Hybridity: The Different
Speeds of Transcultural Changes

49. Liminal/Marginal Identities
‘Mainstream’
British
society/culture

50. Liminal/Marginal Identities
Christian/
Secular?
Socio-
economically ‘British’?
secure?
Second and third
generation teenage
Muslim Bangladeshi
girls living in relative
‘Native’? poverty in east London Male?
‘White’?
Rural? Adult?
Suburban?

51. Insiders
The truth is, however, that the
oppressed are not ‘marginals’, are
not people living outside’ society.
They have always been "inside” -
inside the structure which made
them ‘beings for others’. The
solution is not to ‘integrate’ them into
the structure of oppression, but to
transform that structure so that they
can become beings for themselves.
Freire (1970) Pedagogy of the Oppressed

52. Cultural reproduction
(A) demon sorts moving particles passing before him, some
being warmer, therefore moving faster, others cooler,
therefore slower moving; the demon sends the faster particles
into one container, whose temperature rises, and the slowest
into another whose temperature falls. He thereby maintains
the difference and order that would otherwise tend to be
annihilated. The educational system acts like Maxwell’s
Demon…it maintains the pre-existing order, that is, the gap
between pupils with unequal amounts of cultural capital.
Bourdieu (1998) Practical Reason: On the theory of action

53. Building community
‘The Government must finally tackle the
serious problem of radicalisation on
university campuses with utmost urgency.
The situation that has been allowed to
develop is unsustainable. It endangers our
security at home and has international
implications that are serious enough to
threaten our alliance relationships. We are
concerned that despite damning evidence
of a problem, little progress has been made
in developing an effective programme to
address this issue.’
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Homeland Security (2011)
Keeping Britain Safe: An Assessment of UK Homeland Security Strategy

54. Building community
The new migration casts a question
mark upon the bond between identity
and citizenship, individual and place,
neighbourhood and belonging.…it is
difficult to identity who belongs and
who is an outsider.
What is it we belong to in this
locality? What is it that each of us
calls home and, when we think back
and remember how we arrived here,
what stories do we share?
Bauman (2010) ‘Education in the World of Diasporas’

55. ‘Strangers in Paradise’?
A second irony then is the failure of the widening access and
participation debate to recognize that elite universities need non-
traditional students just as much as the students need them. Both
need the other in order to flourish, the students academically and
the universities socially. Within the current status quo, an
enormous number of working-class students are excluded from
realizing their academic potential. Yet, equally worrying and even
less recognized is the failure of the elite universities to realize their
potential for combining academic excellence with a rich social
diversity.
Reay et al (2009) ‘Strangers in Paradise?’ Working-class Students in Elite Universities