Education, Work and Social Change in Britain’s Former Coalfield Communities (eBook)

This edited book presents a range of chapters written by new and established authors, drawing on a range of different perspectives and traditions to critically analyse education, work and social change in the former coalfields. Historically, coal was one of Britain's major industries, employing over a million men at its peak. But mining was more than an occupation - it was a way of life for those living and working in coalfield communities. Work, leisure, family relations and other dimensions of social life were centred upon the coal industry and its related institutions such as trade unions, working-men's clubs and welfare institutes. These communities have, however, undergone significant social and economic change over time, not least in terms of the pain and suffering associated with the Great Strike of 1984-85, the successive waves of pit closures which took place thereafter and the eventual demise of the coal industry. The book will be of interest to academics drawing on sociology, social policy, history, geography and other subject disciplines.

Robin Simmons is Professor of Education at the University of Huddersfield, UK. His research interests lie in the sociology of education, education policy, and the history of education. Robin has led research funded by leading bodies including the Raymond Williams Foundation, Gatsby Charitable Foundation, and the Leverhulme Trust. He has written extensively on social class, particularly in relation to young people's experiences of participation and non-participation in education, employment, and work-based learning. Robin is co-editor of Education and Working-Class Youth: Reshaping the Politics of Inclusion published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2018.

Kat Simpson is Senior Lecturer in Education and Community Studies at the University of Huddersfield, UK. Her research interests lie in education and social class, especially pupils' and teachers' experiences of schooling in former coalmining communities. She has written extensively on different aspects of deindustrialisation and social haunting. Methodologically, Kat is interested in Marxist ethnography and critical policy analysis. Her book Social Haunting, Education and the Working Class: Reimagining Schooling in a Former Mining Community was published in 2021.