What comes next? : Roma, gypsy and traveller students' agency, educational progression and career decision-making in the UK

This thesis contributes new and original knowledge to our understanding of Roma, Gypsy and Traveller students’ aspirations and their experiences of education and career guidance across England, Wales and Scotland. In doing this, it adopts a grounded theory approach drawing on Hodkinson and Sparkes ‘careership’ theory to explore the interplay between structure and agency in learners’ education and career decision-making, critical race theory, intersectionality and critical pedagogy. This approach enables a nuanced understanding of how complex and intersecting social inequalities within the educational field influence students’ horizons for engagement and action. This body of work, informed by 18 months of in-depth qualitative fieldwork, addresses a key gap within the literature as no other study has explored the educational and career aspirations of young Roma, Gypsy and Traveller cross-nationally. Similarly, no other study has examined students’ experiences of career education and guidance. In order to foreground their experiences, eight focus group and four semi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 Roma, Gypsy, Traveller and Showmen young people across the three U.K nations. Learner narratives were supplemented by in-depth semi-structured interviews with four parents and 22 stakeholders including teaching staff, Career Advisers, local council and NGO employees. Findings demonstrate that students were positively disposed to education and that they expressed high aspirations. Analysis of their narratives indicates that students make pragmatically rational decisions that reflect the interaction between the following processes: individual habitus; agency; family habitus; and the institutional habitus or ‘school affect’. While familial habitus plays a crucial role in students' decision-making, this research has determined that institutional habitus exerts a greater influence. The intersectional barriers that young people faced were not homogenous and experiences varied by geographical context. Their experiences reflect that they must navigate structural, political and cultural tensions intersecting with ‘race’, ethnicity, poverty, class gender, and language that exert power over and influence their lives. The significance and originality of this thesis is that student voices provide a powerful counter-story to challenge master narratives within the public imaginary on what ‘people like them do’. The findings also yield great utility in enabling policy makers, researchers, educators and Career Advisers to think holistically about how learners' multiple identities impact on their career decision-making and social mobility. A number of key recommendations are made in order to help inform policy and practice across the U.K regarding Roma, Gypsy and Traveller educational and career aspirations and decision-making processes.