Young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) are not a static, homogenous group. For most, being NEET is a temporary state as they move between different forms of participation and non-participation. This paper explores how the complexities of defining NEET, the re-structuring of the careers service and the nature of post-16…

UK Government policy states that all young people aged 14-19 are entitled to a broad and balanced curriculum, with access to "personalised" education and training pathways. With boys currently leading the statistics on exclusion, girls' educational and social needs are often sidelined in alternative education provision, as the majority of…

The use of visual methods has become increasingly significant to ethnographic research. The possibilities and challenges I experienced using visual research methods in the school ethnography are examined. This paper explores some of the ethical, practical and methodological issues that arise from the use of video, photographs, pictures and images…

The first thing a visitor notices when entering Hollytree primary school is the art-work displayed on every wall. This paper, based on a three-year ethnographic study of the school, mobilizes field notes and interview and photographic data to probe the meanings of this visual "display". We argue that the walls (re)produce and promote normative…