Kulz, Christy. 2014. 'Structure liberates?': Mixing for mobility and the cultural transformation of 'urban children' in a London academy. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 37(4), pp. 685-701. ISSN 01419870 [Article]

No full text available

Abstract or Description

This paper explores how the creation of a socially and ethnically mixed student body relates to mobility within the context of Beaumont Academy. This authoritarian school opened in 2004 under the ethos 'structure liberates'. Based in a predominantly deprived, ethnic minority area of London, Beaumont seeks to culturally transform its students. With its outstanding GCSE results, the school has been championed as a blueprint for reform, yet the cultural implications underlying this approach remain unexamined. The ethos pathologizes the surrounding area while essentializing itself as an 'oasis in the desert' liberating students through discipline. The paper explores how mobility is embodied by students and the alterations or eliminations necessary to achieve it. These alterations produce raced and classed positions and bring them into focus, highlighting who needs to 'adjust' themselves to accrue value. Uncritical celebrations of mixed-ness conceal structural inequalities lingering beneath the rhetoric of happy multiculturalism and aspirational citizenship. These inequalities are exacerbated by a marketized education system.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2013.808760
Additional Information:	Special Issue: New racisms, new racial subjects?: The neoliberal moment and the racial landscape of contemporary Britain
Keywords:	education; ethnicity; inequality; multiculturalism; social class; social mixing
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Sociology
Dates:	Date Event March 2014 Published
Item ID:	10489
Date Deposited:	22 Jul 2014 06:18
Last Modified:	25 Jul 2014 11:52
Peer Reviewed:	Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/10489

Edit Record (login required)