Miseducation

Education is supposed to level the playing field, and yet for many working-class children, inequalities in the classroom in fact deepen the divide. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds are almost four times more likely to be excluded from school than their wealthier peers, and many are struggling in an educational environment increasingly concerned with discipline. In this substantially revised and updated edition of her bestselling book, Diane Reay, herself working class turned Cambridge professor, investigates why we educate social classes so differently.

Drawing on extensive interviews with working class children and young people, Miseducation offers a sharp critique of how class identity, social mobility, and entrenched inequalities shape educational outcomes. It also examines the increasing focus on control and discipline in UK schools and charts the impact of policies like academies on working-class students. In a new chapter, Reay draws lessons from educational systems around the world, while a second presents clear recommendations for creating a system that supports every child’s potential.

Insightful and thought-provoking, this book is essential reading for anyone invested in the future of education and social equity.

“Miseducation would benefit anyone interested in social mobility and education in the UK… Reay’s contribution to debates on education and social background is to personalise everyday working-class experiences of school and university, something usually absent from current discourse. This, combined with statistical evidence of the extent of inequalities, makes for particularly engaging reading.” LSE Review of Books

“I’m sad that this second edition is still needed but thank goodness for Diane Reay’s updating of this important and powerful book.” Kate E. Pickett, University of York

“Incredibly insightful and passionate - Diane Reay really does get class. Mandatory reading for anyone proclaiming greater equity in education.” John Smyth, University of Huddersfield

“An inspiring and hopeful book [which] commands us as educators to make schools places of nurture, creativity and inspiration, not places where fear of failing is the daily diet of all children, especially working-class children.” Kathleen Lynch, University College Dublin and author of Care and Capitalism (2022) and Critiquing Human Capital and Carelessness in Education (2026)

"Diane Reay's compelling analysis synthesises memoir, a wealth of personal testimonies and statistics to reveal a hidden story of Britain's education system. Her sharply argued book demonstrates why selective education is bad for all of us." Selina Todd, St Hilda's College, Oxford

"This searing critique of how schools and universities fail the working class and reproduce inequalities should be at the heart of contemporary debates on education." Andrew Sayer, University of Lancaster

“No one has done more than Diane Reay to confront the complex emotions in living class inequalities in education. Her heartbreaking volume bears damning witness to neoliberalism’s contributions to the injuries of class.“ Lynne Layton, Harvard Medical School

“A must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the systemic mechanisms driving social inequality in education.” Mieke Van Houtte, Ghent University

"Passionate, provocative and deeply troubling, this book examines contemporary working-class education.... should be required reading for politicians of both the left and especially the right." Tim Strangleman, University of Kent

"Excellent text, highly relevant and accessible to all." Caroline Lewis, UWTSD

"Intellectually compelling and inspiring in the way it systematically exposes the myth of meritocracy in economically unequal societies. It will inspire those who read it to work cooperatively for social justice both in education and society." Kathleen Lynch, University College Dublin, School of Education

“A trenchant portrayal of class processes in twentieth and early twenty-first century England…. a must read for all those interested in educational opportunities, the global economy, and the ways in which working class individuals and collectivities construct and live under conditions of massively intensifying inequalities.“ Lois Weis, State University of New York, University at Buffalo, USA, Author of Class Reunion: The Remaking of the American White Working Class

Introduction: A personal reflection

1. What is social class, and why it matters both inside and outside of education

2. The history of class in education

3. Class in the classroom

4. The mis-structuring of state education: the rise of the academies

5. Behaviour and discipline: education as control

6. Social mobility: a problematic solution

7. Lessons from other countries

8. Towards an educational system that develops all children’s potential

Conclusion: Still miseducating