In this podcast, Patrick Alexander talks about his new book Schooling and Social Identity: Learning to Act Your Age in Contemporary Britain. Patrick explores the history of schooling before recounting a year in the life of an Oxfordshire secondary school. In telling this story, Patrick asks why it is that schools are organised according to age categories, using the concept of 'age imaginaries' to critique our current understanding of how age works to structure social identity approach. Patrick argues that schools remain a vital part of the process of socialisation in modern society, particularly into age categories and associated ideas about how we should 'act' in order to live meaningful lives. Patrick concludes with a critique of contemporary schooling, exploring how we might think differently about schools in the post-pandemic world. My Twitter is @patgalexander

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