Diane Reay

Last updated

Diane Reay is a sociologist and academic, who is Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge. [1] [2] She is noted for her study about educational inequalities among students in state schools in the United Kingdom. [1] She has maintained that there is a tendency to misuse the school selection practice to transform social class differences into education. [3] For instance, she criticized the Oxbridge application process as "institutionally racist". [4]

Contents

Working-class student experiences

Reay's research highlights the challenges that working-class students have in higher education, in particular when accessing and transitioning to and within higher education. [1]

Background

Reay is the daughter of a coal miner and the eldest of eight children. She was raised on a council estate and was given free school meals while a young student. In an interview, she said, "I learned as a small child I had to work at least twice as hard as the middle-class children to achieve the same result." [1]

She taught in a London primary school for 20 years before she began work at Cambridge, [1] where she is currently an emeritus professor of sociology of education. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</span> Private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxbridge</span> Universities of Oxford and Cambridge

Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to describe characteristics reminiscent of them, often with implications of superior social or intellectual status or elitism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universities in the United Kingdom</span>

Universities in the United Kingdom have generally been instituted by royal charter, papal bull, Act of Parliament, or an instrument of government under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 or the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. Degree awarding powers and the 'university' title are protected by law, although the precise arrangements for gaining these vary between the constituent countries of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master's degree</span> Postgraduate academic degree

A master's degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. A master's degree normally requires previous study at the bachelor's level, either as a separate degree or as part of an integrated course. Within the area studied, master's graduates are expected to possess advanced knowledge of a specialized body of theoretical and applied topics; high order skills in analysis, critical evaluation, or professional application; and the ability to solve complex problems and think rigorously and independently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social mobility</span> Mobility to move social classes

Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location within a given society. This movement occurs between layers or tiers in an open system of social stratification. Open stratification systems are those in which at least some value is given to achieved status characteristics in a society. The movement can be in a downward or upward direction. Markers for social mobility such as education and class, are used to predict, discuss and learn more about an individual or a group's mobility in society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCAS</span> England-based private limited company for university application processing

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service is a charity and private limited company based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, which provides educational support services. Formed on July 27th, 1993 by the merger of the former university admissions system, Universities Central Council on Admissions and the former polytechnics admissions system, Polytechnics Central Admissions System, the company's main role is to operate the application process for British universities and colleges. The company is funded by fees charged to applicants and universities as well as advertising income.

Running Start is a dual credit enrollment program in Washington, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Montana and Illinois which allows high school juniors and seniors to attend college courses numbered 100 or above, while completing high school. It is similar to other dual enrollment programs common at public and private colleges and universities in other states like Concurrent Enrollment or Dual Enrollment. Running Start credits are held in equally high regard as Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate.

Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States.

The golden triangle is the triangle formed by the university cities of Cambridge, London, and Oxford in the south east of England in the United Kingdom. The triangle is occasionally referred to as the Loxbridge triangle, a portmanteau of London and Oxbridge or, when limited to five members, the G5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sutton Trust</span> Educational charity in the UK

The Sutton Trust is an educational charity in the United Kingdom which aims to improve social mobility and address educational disadvantage. The charity was set up by educational philanthropist, Sir Peter Lampl in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doxbridge</span> Portmanteau of Durham, Oxford, and Cambridge

Doxbridge is a portmanteau of Durham, Oxford, and Cambridge, referring to the universities of those names. It is an expansion of the more popular portmanteau Oxbridge, referring to Oxford and Cambridge universities and similar to the portmanteau Loxbridge, referring to London, Oxford and Cambridge.

Educational inequality is the unequal distribution of academic resources, including but not limited to school funding, qualified and experienced teachers, books, and technologies, to socially excluded communities. These communities tend to be historically disadvantaged and oppressed. Individuals belonging to these marginalized groups are often denied access to schools with adequate resources. Inequality leads to major differences in the educational success or efficiency of these individuals and ultimately suppresses social and economic mobility. Inequality in education is broken down into different types: regional inequality, inequality by sex, inequality by social stratification, inequality by parental income, inequality by parent occupation, and many more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sociology of race and ethnic relations</span> Field of study

The sociology of race and ethnic relations is the study of social, political, and economic relations between races and ethnicities at all levels of society. This area encompasses the study of systemic racism, like residential segregation and other complex social processes between different racial and ethnic groups.

Northeastern University – London, formerly New College of the Humanities, is a university in London, England. It was founded as a private college by the philosopher A. C. Grayling, who became its first Master. The college, which grants undergraduate and taught master's degrees, is now owned by NCH at Northeastern Ltd., a subsidiary of Northeastern University, a private American research university based in Boston, Massachusetts, which acquired the college in February 2019. A year later, in February 2020, NCH at Northeastern Ltd. was granted its own taught degree awarding powers. The college became publicly funded in August 2020. The college specializes in the humanities, social sciences, and master's degrees at the intersection of the humanities and technology.

The Seren Network is a set of eleven regional hubs in Wales to help sixth-formers in Welsh state schools to get into Russell Group universities. It was formed by the Labour Welsh government in 2015 in response to a fall in Welsh students applying to Oxbridge It includes around 2000 students.

Amy Laura Wax is an American legal scholar and neurologist. She is the Robert Mundheim Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Her work addresses issues in social welfare law and policy, as well as the relationship of the family, the workplace, and labor markets. She has often made remarks about non-white people that have been described as white supremacist and racist.

Financial issues facing students in the United States include the rising cost of tuition, as well as ancillaries, such as room and board, textbook and coursework costs, personal expenses, and transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicola Rollock</span> British activist and writer

Nicola Rollock is a British academic, writer and activist. She is professor of social policy and race at King's College London, having previously been reader in equality and education at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and has written several books, including The Colour of Class: The educational strategies of the Black middle classes (2014). She has been included in the Powerlist of the most influential black Britons and has received the PRECIOUS award for her work in racial equality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalwant Bhopal</span>

Kalwant Bhopal is Professor of Education and Social Justice and Director of the Centre for Research in Race & Education at the University of Birmingham. Her work explores the achievements and experiences of minority ethnic groups in education with a focus on how processes of racism, exclusion and marginalisation operate in predominantly White spaces.

Scott Caizley FRSA is a British music educator, pianist and academic.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Donna Ferguson (21 November 2017), "Working-class children get less of everything in education - including respect", The Guardian
  2. Diane Reay, University of Cambridge, 2017
  3. "In the zone: making education fairer". Indonesia at Melbourne. 2019-03-04. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  4. "Oxbridge Application Process Branded 'Institutionally Racist' By Cambridge Professor". HuffPost UK. 2015-03-23. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  5. Lightfoot, Liz (2018-09-04). "Let teachers sack heads … and other ideas for a National Education Service". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2019-04-22.

Selected publications