Professor Richard Hatcher and Dr Tricia Le Gallais, Birmingham
City University
"Work Experience & Social Mobility: Understanding the Issue
and Bucking the Trend"
Abstract: Work experience has the
potential to make a real difference in the lives of young people.
Unfortunately, according to research carried out by Hatcher &
Le Gallais in 2008, all too often work placements tend powerfully
to reflect and reproduce patterns of social class inequality with
working class kids getting working class placements and middle
class pupils experiencing the benefits of 'professional
placements'. However, as further research undertaken in 2011
identifies, one inner city school in the West Midlands is
successfully bucking this trend.
Biographies: Dr Richard Hatcher is
Professor of Education at Birmingham City University. He has
written widely on education policy with a particular reference to
issues of democracy and social justice. He is currently
researching the changing structure and role of local authorities,
funded by the British Academy and BELMAS. Recent publications
include:
Hatcher, R. (2011) Liberating the supply-side, managing the
market. In Hatcher, R. and Jones, K. (eds) No Country for the
Young: education from New Labour to the Coalition. London:
Tufnell Press.
Hatcher, R. (2011) Social class and schooling: differentiation
or democracy? In Cole, M. (ed) Education, Equality and Human
Rights. (3rd edition). London: Routledge Falmer.
Dr Tricia Le Gallais career in education has involved working in
three sectors, namely in secondary, where she taught modern
languages, further education where she worked as a researcher and
thirdly in higher education where she now works for Birmingham City
University as a teacher trainer and researcher. Her MA
thesis explored mentoring in secondary schools and her PhD, focused
on ICT, construction lecturers and professional identity.
Recent research undertaken with Professor Richard Hatcher
(Birmingham City University), includes an exploration of work
experience programmes in secondary schools and a study of young
learners' experiences of the 14-19 Diploma (Level 2).
Watch Tricia's Vox Pop