Diversity, difference and communities in secondary schools in England

Abstract

This paper discusses secondary school pupils’ understandings and experiences of diversity and communities in England. It draws on qualitative data from a field study conducted in 8 schools as part of a larger project funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. The larger project, which included a review of literature, analysis of Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LYPSE) data and a national survey of school staff, aimed to explore current thinking and practice about citizenship and community cohesion. For this article field notes, and 16 audio-recorded focus group discussions with year 10 and year 11 students were analysed thematically, through multi-disciplinary team dialogue, informed by literature on diversity, community cohesion, belonging and citizenship education. Despite some variation in responses across schools, the results clearly demonstrate that student discourses of diversity grapple with notions of sameness and assimilation. We argue that citizenship education practice must be informed by robust research that addresses boundary notions and practices of identity and citizenship.