Introduction: Theorising and Mapping Inequalities in the Teaching Profession

Abstract

Since the 1970s, equality issues in education have generated a wealth of research in many regions of the world. This extensive corpus has shed light on how education contributes to the formation of learners’ identities and on how social class, gender, ethnicity and other identity markers play out in this process (see, for example, Archer and Francis, 2007; Gillborn, 2008;Martino and Meyenn, 2001; Mills, 2003; Modood, 2003; Modood and Shiner, 2002; Moss, 2007; Reay, 2002; Skelton and Francis, 2003; Spender, 1982; Willis, 1977). Crucially for governments, groups and individuals with a concern for social justice, this work has shown that education can open avenues towards social change (Bowles, 1983; hooks, 1994), yet simultaneously represents a site where social divides reproduce (Bourdieu and Passeron, 1970).