Abstract
The numbers of students in home education in England is rising (gov.uk, 2024) with complex reasons as to why. With further education (FE) as a fresh start for some, moving to study at college aged 14 to 19 is an opportunity to re-engage with institutional learning and teaching.
This small-scale research, with a pragmatic-interpretivist approach, focuses on the lived experience of FE students, studying with a medium sized college group in the south of England, who have successfully transitioned from home education. Their, previously hidden, voices are captured through semi-structured interviews and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2024) to find what is important to them in their learning journey.
In search for a good education, Bernstein (1996), Biesta (2009) and Dewey (1933) discuss what this could look like. Bernstein (1996, p.xxi) notes that,
“We can measure education against the model of rights and see whether all students receive and enjoy such rights of whether there is an unequal distribution of these rights”.
A move to enacting opportunities for Pedagogic Rights (Bernstein, 1996) in contrast to following a previous focus of ‘businessification’ of education (Ball, 2017), is highlighted through the conversations with students.
As a practitioner-researcher who started the research whilst teaching in FE and part way through moved to HE, I share the challenges and joys of carrying out qualitative data collection with potentially vulnerable young people in a changeable environment during unsettled times.
This small-scale research, with a pragmatic-interpretivist approach, focuses on the lived experience of FE students, studying with a medium sized college group in the south of England, who have successfully transitioned from home education. Their, previously hidden, voices are captured through semi-structured interviews and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2024) to find what is important to them in their learning journey.
In search for a good education, Bernstein (1996), Biesta (2009) and Dewey (1933) discuss what this could look like. Bernstein (1996, p.xxi) notes that,
“We can measure education against the model of rights and see whether all students receive and enjoy such rights of whether there is an unequal distribution of these rights”.
A move to enacting opportunities for Pedagogic Rights (Bernstein, 1996) in contrast to following a previous focus of ‘businessification’ of education (Ball, 2017), is highlighted through the conversations with students.
As a practitioner-researcher who started the research whilst teaching in FE and part way through moved to HE, I share the challenges and joys of carrying out qualitative data collection with potentially vulnerable young people in a changeable environment during unsettled times.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 10 Jul 2026 |
| Event | ARPCE (Association for Research in Post-Compulsory Education) 6th International Conference: Research in Post-Compulsory Education - Harris-Manchester College, University of Oxfod, Oxford, United Kingdom Duration: 10 Jul 2026 → 12 Jul 2026 Conference number: 6 https://arpce.org.uk/events/conference/arpce-international-research-conference/ |
Conference
| Conference | ARPCE (Association for Research in Post-Compulsory Education) 6th International Conference |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | ARPCE |
| Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
| City | Oxford |
| Period | 10/07/26 → 12/07/26 |
| Internet address |
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Hear my voice: The challenges and joys of raising hidden voices in further education'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Cite this
- APA
- Author
- BIBTEX
- Harvard
- Standard
- RIS
- Vancouver