Gayna Davey
Gayna Davey
I am currently working as a research officer for Professor Alison Fuller in the School of Education, University of Southampton. My primary activity centres on a project which explores the relationship between higher education, vocational education and the labour market. Its particular focus is on the opportunities for transition for those with vocational qualifications. The research is exploring the availability and currency of 'hybrid qualifications', which are those qualifications that are designed to provide vocational preparation for the labour market and entry to higher education. The research involves four countries, Germany, the UK, Denmark and Austria, and will provide the basis for cross-national comparisons and recommendations. My doctoral research was carried out within the School of Social Sciences, and my thesis was titled: 'Defining the middle classes: Using Bourdieu's trilogy of habitus, capital and field to deconstruct the reproduction of middle-class privilege'. Drawing on the theoretical, conceptual and methodological underpinning of Pierre Bourdieu, the research explored how young people's transitions to university can be understood as classed practices. Prior to embarking on my PhD, I completed an MSc in the School of Social Sciences, and her dissertation explored the gendered and classed nature of women's part-time work. For my MA dissertation, which was undertaken at the University of Leicester, I focused on the realities and perception of Britain's insecure labour market practices.
School of Education
University of Southampton.
United Kingdom
Email: Gayna.Davey@soton.ac.uk
