All Outputs (6)

There should be hope for a fairer sector beyond what the UUK blueprint offers (2024)
Newspaper / Magazine
Gamsu, S. (2024). There should be hope for a fairer sector beyond what the UUK blueprint offers. WonkHE

This is a blog written for WonkHE in response to the UUK Blueprint released in October 2024. It puts forwards alternative ideas and hopes for higher education and concludes as follows:

De-commodifying higher education for students and rebalancing... Read More about There should be hope for a fairer sector beyond what the UUK blueprint offers.

Meritocracy and the politics of inequality in higher education (2024)
Book Chapter
Gamsu, S. (in press). Meritocracy and the politics of inequality in higher education. In R. Sidhu, J. Waters, & Y. Cheng (Eds.), The Elgar International Encyclopedia of Sociology of Education. Edward Elgar Publishing

Meritocracy is a central legitimizing myth used by policymakers, university leaders and elites to justify and naturalise academic attainment and obscure universities’ role in maintaining inequality. Whilst the modern term may have its roots in post-w... Read More about Meritocracy and the politics of inequality in higher education.

The material basis of elite schooling: capital and the state (2024)
Journal Article
Gamsu, S., Courtois, A., & Boden, R. (2024). The material basis of elite schooling: capital and the state. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 45(3), 305-324. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2024.2335001

This editorial for the special issue outlines a framework for understanding the material basis for elite schooling. It examines how we can conceptualise the paradoxical nature of the relations between capital, the state and elite schools. It synthes... Read More about The material basis of elite schooling: capital and the state.

Elite schools and slavery in the UK – capital, violence and extractivism (2024)
Journal Article
Gamsu, S., Ashe, S., & Arday, J. (2024). Elite schools and slavery in the UK – capital, violence and extractivism. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 45(3), 325-345. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2024.2335002

Elite schools in the UK are bound to the history of British colonialism. This paper examines the material ties between these schools and the transatlantic slave trade. We combine a range of sources to examine which educational institutions and their... Read More about Elite schools and slavery in the UK – capital, violence and extractivism.

‘Levelling up’ social mobility? Comparing the social and spatial mobility for university graduates across districts of Britain (2024)
Journal Article
Yu, Y., Gamsu, S., & Forsberg, H. (2024). ‘Levelling up’ social mobility? Comparing the social and spatial mobility for university graduates across districts of Britain. The British Journal of Sociology, https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.13089

Social and spatial mobility have been subject to substantial recent sociological and policy debate. Complementing other recent work, in this paper we explore these patterns in relation to higher education. Making use of high‐quality data from the hig... Read More about ‘Levelling up’ social mobility? Comparing the social and spatial mobility for university graduates across districts of Britain.

Educating education workers (2024)
Newspaper / Magazine
Gamsu, S. (in press). Educating education workers

How do we educate education workers within education unions? This short piece examines the theoretical and strategic implications of political education within the University and Colleges Union and reflects on how we might seek to develop an alternat... Read More about Educating education workers.