Rites of Passage: education policy from the perspective of school leavers

Abstract

This article is based on a research project designed to examine the role of a local school in reproducing local (capitalist) social relations, especially in relation to assumptions about the world of work and notions of adulthood. The perspective is that of a group of school leavers at the point of transition. The leavers’ perceptions point to conflicts between their values and assumptions and those which historically and currently appear to underlie education policy. It is argued that these conflicts take on different forms in different localities, depending largely on the nature of the local labour market.