‘Education ain’t for us’: using Bourdieu to understand the lives of young White working-class men classified as not in education, employment or training

ABSTRACT

This paper uses the work of Pierre Bourdieu to understand the lives of a set of young White working-class men living in a deprived urban locale in the north of England. All participants were classified as NEET (not in education, employment or training) throughout the research and had spent lengthy periods of time outside education and work before the study commenced. Although none took part in formal employment, many participants engaged in illicit activities, often for material gain, during the course of the fieldwork. The data presented is drawn from ethnographic fieldwork and deals with participants’ attitudes to education, work and social life more broadly. Whilst some findings are troubling, the paper challenges dominant discourses about the attitudes, values and aspirations of NEET young people, especially those from White working-class backgrounds.

KEYWORDS:

• NEET
• young men
• White working class
• Bourdieu
• ethnography

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. ‘Population’ is used as shorthand for the set of young people classified as NEET at a given time. It should not be seen as a fixed, or relatively stable, group of specific individuals.

2. GCSEs are academic qualifications taken at age sixteen by most pupils in England and Wales.

3. In England, further education colleges focus mainly on vocational learning, although many offer other forms of learning, including special needs’ education, adult learning and higher education.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Robin Simmons

Robin Simmons is Professor of Education at the University of Huddersfield.

Danny Connelly

Danny Connelly is Principal Research Fellow at the University of Huddersfield.

Ron Thompson

Ron Thompson is a youth work practitioner and a postgraduate researcher at the University of Huddersfield.