Output details

Deconstructing 'Aspiration': UK policy debates and European policy trends

The article draws on analyses conducted in the context of a doctoral project which examined the discourse of ‘aspiration’ at the level of policy, school and young people in the UK. A multi-method research design was employed combining documentary analysis with interview and observation data collected in a secondary school context. The empirical material was analysed by drawing on categories derived from Michel Foucault’s work on discourse, practice and subjectivity. Hereby, existing frameworks – which are typically used to analyse policy discourse – were adapted to shed light on how discourse is appropriated and negotiated in everyday meaning making. The article makes a significant contribution to the methodological development in the area of Foucaultian Discourse Analysis. Linking the findings to European policy trends, the article furthermore provides a new perspective on the ‘aspiration discourse’ in the UK and brings this debate to the attention of a European audience. The article is based on a paper that was presented at the ECER Emerging Researchers’ Conference in 2009 and subsequently won the EERA Best Paper Award. In justifying their decision, the reviewers indicated that they were especially impressed by the clarity and Europeanisation of the argument.