Speaker: Dr. Leonie Smith (Philosophy, University of Manchester)

There are distinct epistemic advantages and disadvantages to occupying a marginalised socioeconomic social position as a student in education. Approaches to widening participation in HEI often tend to focus on the disadvantages – and on how students from non-traditional backgrounds can overcome these – while our pedagogical strategies often encourage the same.

These activities can, however, often unintentionally work to prevent students from displaying and benefiting from the specific academically-relevant strengths that research suggests their backgrounds make them more likely to have – and from encouraging the development of these skills amongst other students.

This talk introduces some of the research on the strengths of students from working-backgrounds, and invites reflection on how we might change our teaching practices to recognise, and enable the flourishing of, the intellectual and academic strengths that working-class students (often) bring to the table.

Click here for the presentation slides (PDF format) which accompanied this talk.

Video recording from 18th May 2023.