Young People’s Lived Experience of Inequality at an English School after Covid-19

This thesis presents findings from a 19-month ethnography that was conducted in one English secondary school. It explores the everyday social realities of young people at school and focusses on their lived experiences of inequality within, and after, the Covid- 19 pandemic. The ethnographic approach adopted in this research focusses specifically on participatory and creative methods as part of the ethnographic process, including zinemaking and walking interviews, in order to centre young people’s voices within the research process. The study prioritises ethical considerations, continual consent and care when collaborating with young people to collect, produce and analyse data. The study presents five key findings: 1. Con2nuous frustration from students about the disconnect between what the school saw as issues that needed tackling, and the issues they were actually facing throughout their lived experience. 2. Mixed messages about bullying. The school had a clear ethos of an2-bullying in its messaging, but the students (and some staff) and li,le to no faith in the reporting system. 3. Students with SEND were not always well integrated or catered for in the mainstream classroom. 4. The school’s ambition to keep to its ‘traditonal’ roots had an influence on gendered experiences of inequality, particularly in relation to behavior management and uniform policing. 5. For the students central to my research, Covid-19, whilst certainly disruptive, did not seem to perpetuate issues of inequality, but rather presented them in different ways. The main contributions of this study lie in the contributions to original empirical data gathered in an unprecedented and uncertain time. It offers unique insights into how inequality manifests at school and how this is perceived, lived, and resisted by students. The thesis champions the participatory approach to research with young people and highlights zines as an important participatory tool for research with marginalised communities.