From expectations to aspirations: State modernisation, urban policy, and the existential politics of welfare in the UK

The politics of aspiration: neo-liberal education policy, ‘low’ parental aspirations, and primary school Extended Services in disadvantaged communities

“…On occasions we compare these families with their middle-class counterparts. In doing so, we are cognisant that the category middle-class is itself heterogeneous, but contend that the distinction between (attitudes to) these low-income families and 'the' middle-class remains insightful in a context where class-specific norms inform the politics of aspiration (Raco, 2009).…”

“…Before we can begin to explore attitudes and practices within schools, however, we first need to understand their position within the wider society. Our research is based in England which is a particularly apposite case study because here the political discourses about aspiration and widening University participation discussed above have, like much wider educational policy (Brehony, 2005), trickled back down the age range into the compulsory stages of the education system, a fact not surprising given the importance of education and aspiration in New Labour political discourse (Raco, 2009).…”

“…As part of this process headteachers were asked through a questionnaire survey about the main challenges facing their school, and low parental aspirations were identified as a persistent problem in those schools serving what we might refer to as low-income, or economically-deprived, areas. This coming together of political discourse which seeks to produce aspirational subjects (Raco, 2009) with empirical experiences of an education system in which professionals are quick to express concerns about low aspirations in economically-marginalised areas is of intellectual interest to us.…”

Changing children's geographies

“…First, our study emphasises the importance of the peopling of that state (Peck 2004) not simply in terms of the policy-making or technocratic elite (Bailey and Maresh 2009;Larner and Laurie 2010), but also of the everyday public sector workers who, as agents of the state, shape policy as it emerges in practice. Second, we contribute to the emerging geographical literature examining which types of subject positions are normalised in neoliberal policy, and which are seen as in need of intervention (MacLeavy 2007;Elizabeth and Larner 2009;Raco 2009). Specifically, we demonstrate that local state actors can both reproduce national policy discourses about ideal parenting and childhood, and in other instances rework them as headteachers draw on alternative models of parenting and/or childhood in localisation of 'national' policy.…”

Does Antwerp Belong to Everyone? Unveiling the Conditional Limits to Inclusive Urban Citizenship

“…Rose (2000Rose ( , p. 1399) distinguished a new 'politics of behaviour' called 'etho-politics': "If discipline individualizes and normalizes and bio-power aggregates and socializes, etho-power works through the values, beliefs, and sentiments thought to underpin the techniques of responsible self-government and the manifestation of one's obligations." Etho-politics dig deeper into what Raco (2009) has called the 'existential dimension' of citizenship. Just like disciplinary power it 'individualizes' a political subject, yet it does not operate in a special place or institution, and it can be exercised virtually anywhere and at any time.…”