Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê

The module focuses on elites in education and how these shape our society and politicsÌý Classical platonic views on education are traced and analysed, and their relevance to current educational inequalities is highlighted.Ìý We examine the ideas and practices of meritocracy and cultural capital, and how these are linked to the history of eugenics.Ìý The English public schools and elite universities are discussed in detail, while the emergence of elite international schools and the notion of a global elite are also examined.Ìý We also relate these institutions to gender differences and the transformation in the nature of the elite curriculum from classics to science.ÌýÌýÌý

Teaching delivery:ÌýThis module is taught in 10 weekly lectures and 10 weekly seminars.Ìý

Indicative topics:ÌýIndicative lecture topics – based on module content in 2023/24, subject to possible changes

• Week 1 - Introduction and classic visionsÌý
• Week 2 - Dystopian elitist visions of the futureÌý
• Week 3 - Education and inequalitiesÌý
• Week 4 - Public schoolsÌý
• Week 5 - Key elite educational institutionsÌý
• Week 6 - Elite universitiesÌý
• Week 7 - International and global perspectivesÌý
• Week 8 - Elite girls and educationÌý
• Week 9 - An elite curriculumÌý
• Week 10 - ReviewÌý

Module aims:Ìý

What do we mean by elites, how does education help to create and support them, and how do they maintain social inequalities in different societies and around the world? The concept of ‘elites’, ‘elite institutions’, ‘the upper class’ are variously used, often meaning different things, and are often the imaginary against which we understand our own lives (those with more power, more money, more opportunities, better lives?). Through this module we will explore how we define ‘elite’, how you become elite, the effect of the elites on our everyday lives, and how we can all play a role in challenging inequalities in our communities.  This module will allow us to create new understandings of how elites are shaping the social, geographical, cultural and emotional spaces of our everyday lives.Ìý

Recommended readings:Ìý

• Gaztambide-Fernandez, R. (2009) ‘What is an elite boarding school?’, Review of Educational Research, 79/3, pp. 1090-1128Ìý
• McCulloch, G. (1991) Philosophers and Kings:  Education for Leadership in Modern England, CUPÌý
• McCulloch, G., Canales, A.F., Ku, H.-Y. (2023) Brian Simon and the Struggle for Education, Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê PressÌý
• Reay, D. (2006) ‘The zombie stalking English schools:  social class and educational inequality’, British Journal of Educational Studies, 54/3, pp. 1103-1125Ìý