This book examines the complex relationship between working-class masculinities and educational success. Drawing on a small sample of young men attending either a selective grammar or a secondary school in the same urban area of Belfast, the author demonstrates that contrary to popular belief, some working-class boys are engaged with education, are motivated to succeed and have high aspirations. However, the structures of schooling in a society where working class-ness is seen as feckless, tasteless and cultureless make the processes of becoming successful more challenging than they need to be. This volume reveals the unique processes of reconciling success and identities for individual working-class boys, and the important role schools have to play in this negotiation. Highly relevant to those engaged in teacher training in socially unequal societies, this book will also appeal to practitioners, sociologists of education, scholars of social justice and Bourdieusian theorists.

“The book provides insight into the complex relationship between social class and education. … Working-Class Boys and Educational Success makes a valuable contribution to the literature on class, education, and identity. … Ingram’s work pushes scholars and educational administrators to think more critically about inequality and how to combat such issues in the school environment.” (Erica Morales, Boyhood Studies, Vol. 12 (1), 2019)

Nicola Ingram is Senior Lecturer in Education and Social Justice at Lancaster University, UK. She is a co-author of Higher Education, Social Mobility and Social Class: the Degree Generation (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) and co-editor of Bourdieu: the Next Generation. She has published widely on class and gendered inequalities.