Abstract
Students’ subject choices at post-compulsory levels have important implications for access to future study and career paths. This thesis compares the factors influencing post-16 participation in physics and modern language education and begins with a critical review of the literature on subject choice, comparing across the literature on participation in these school subjects. Both physics and modern languages have been identified as strategically important and vulnerable subjects due to a growing demand for qualified graduates. However, while there have been considerable resources invested in understanding the underlying causes of declining participation and inequalities between different science subjects, there has been relatively little research into other subjects. Moreover, physics and modern languages are disproportionately studied by students who are white and middle-class, though physics students are predominately male and modern language students are predominately female. This study offers insights into inequalities in participation in both science and modern languages education by drawing comparisons between these subjects, an approach that is distinctive from other studies.The empirical research draws on qualitative data collected through focus group discussions with 67 students and one-on-one interviews with 14 teachers at 5 secondary schools and sixth form colleges in London and the West Midlands regions in England. The analysis of this data draws upon two main theoretical perspectives, Bourdieu’s theory of social reproduction and sociocultural theorisations of identity as well as academic work by scholars who have adopted and extended these ideas when researching subject choice and participation in science and modern language education. The thesis argues that these theoretical perspectives provide useful analytical lenses to interrogate the data at different levels or magnifications. Bourdieu’s theory foregrounds the influence of structural factors on reproducing existing patterns of social inequality, particularly related to social class. Sociocultural theorisations of identity shift focus to individual agency and the ways that individuals are actively constructing their identities.
The main contribution of this study is an in-depth understanding of the role that social contexts play in shaping students’ subject choices. Post-16 participation in physics and modern languages was found to be restricted by school policies and pedagogical practices which reproduce existing inequalities related to gender, ethnicity and social class. The examples in this study illustrate how students’ choices were limited by school curricular offers and attainment-based gate-keeping practices in physics and modern languages. This thesis argues that students’ choices should be understood within the context of the opportunities available at their schools and greater attention should be given to the impact of school practices in the research literature on subject choice.
| Date of Award | 1 Dec 2021 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Louise Archer (Supervisor) & Karen Skilling (Supervisor) |