From Big Society to Shared Society? Geographies of social cohesion and encounter in the UK’s National Citizen Service

Abstract

This article explores and expands debates on the geographies of social cohesion and encounter, specifically in relation to young people and informal citizenship training. Three questions drive our agenda in this paper. First, how do certain youth spaces get enrolled into wider political discourses, functioning as geographical expressions of government visions to create a political legacy? Second, how are these spaces engineered and operate on-the-ground? Finally, how do young people understand their experiences of such spaces? To address these questions, we use the example of 'National Citizen Service' -a youth programme operating in England and Northern Ireland -to raise critical questions about the wider politics of spaces of informal education and attempts by the state to 'make' citizens and future neighbours. The article examines the rationale for this growing scheme, targeted at 15-17 year olds and designed to foster a 'more cohesive, responsible and engaged society'. Drawing on original fieldwork with key architects, stakeholders and young people, we analyse the narratives that underlie NCS and its expansion -specifically around social cohesion and citizenship education. We explore the idea of 'social mix' as one of NCS' guiding principles and its place as part of state narratives about the 'Big

Rethinking learning? Challenging and accommodating neoliberal educational agenda in the integration of Forest School into mainstream educational settings

“…An emerging body of work in geographies of education traverses the conceptual divide between formal and informal learning environments (Holloway & Kirby, ; Mills & Waite, ). This paper contributes to these debates by critically examining alternative education as a challenge to the institutionalisation of mainstream settings, while paradoxically developing future‐orientated soft skills in children that will be valued by neoliberal states.…”

“…Previous research within the field of geographies of education has identified a dichotomous divide between formal education (Thiem, ) and alternative, informal learning environments (Kraftl, ). An emerging body of work traverses this conceptual divide exploring, for example, how neoliberal political discourses permeate informal learning and education (Mills & Waite, ) and the socially differentiated use of supplementary education to increase attainment in formal educational settings (Holloway & Kirby, ). This paper contributes to this debate, critically evaluating how alternative forms of education are being drawn into mainstream primary schools by exploring children's contrasting and complementary understandings of learning in classroom and woodland environments.…”

“…In response, alternative educational approaches have grown, including Steiner schools, Montessori schools and home schooling . This paper engages with recent work within geographies of education which has contested the dichotomy between formal and informal education (Holloway & Kirby, ; Mills & Waite, ) to analyse the utilisation of alternative approaches in mainstream schooling. The purpose of this paper is to explore the integration of formal and informal education, and the consequences for children's experiences of learning.…”

Reducing loneliness among migrant and ethnic minority people: a participatory evidence synthesis

“…122 Four involved university students, [123][124][125][126] two involved children in schools 127,128 and five involved children and young people outside educational institutions. [129][130][131][132][133] Eleven were open to people of all ages: one involved all ethnic minority people and 10 involved both minority and majority groups. 72,[134][135][136][137][138][139][140][141] In terms of the intercultural nature of initiatives, there was great variation in the mix of migration, ethnic and national identities of the participants involved.…”

“…The nature of activities was varied, but four broad types of encounter were more common: arts based, 110,114,120,127,132,143 music based, 126,128,136 sports based, 111,115,130,142 sharing conversation (more or less structured) 72,112,113,[116][117][118]122,124,125,133,134,138,140,144 and neighbourhood improvement projects. 121,141 Other formats included an online collaborative game, 129 diverse team-based activities over a 4-week programme, 131 poster and social media campaigns, 118,145 community gardens 139 and other community spaces. 137 Several initiatives combined multiple activities, such as neighbourhood improvement with sports or arts activities.…”