Abstract
This paper examines reasons why young people’s talk about themselves and their educational experiences do not seem to be valued in public discourse about education. Drawing on a national dataset of student focus groups, it illustrates how students talk about themselves in educational contexts in a way that is entirely different and more complex than how they are conceptualised by an adult audience and symbolic elites. It demonstrates, contrary to dominant adult perceptions, the critical, communicative and creative use of language offered by young people when asked about their educational experiences, and highlights the potential innovation being missed by not listening.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 127-139 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | London Review of Education |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2013 |
Keywords
- Teenage talk
- public discourse
- voice
- sociolinguistics
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education