An accidental sociologist: a reflection on working-class education and becoming an adult learner

Abstract

Higher education should be a social good for everyone and, despite the intentions of university policy on inclusion and diversity with schemes on widening participation, the truth is that for working-class students, university is still a place where they encounter prejudices and feelings of exclusion. This article uses the method of autoethnography and personal experience to show and to argue that class inequality and the education system are still connected. It argues that policies relating to inclusion or exclusion are not adequate and instead the working-class lens, the experiences of working-class learners and teachers should be valued pedagogy rather than devalued ‘baggage’ that should be left behind.