Jacinta's story: Challenging neoliberal practices and creating democratic spaces in public high schools

Throughout this chapter it is argued that young people themselves are the ‘purest witnesses’ to what’s happening and what works best for them in their schools. The authors draw on the experience of Jacinta, one of the participants from a larger ethnographic study of outer metropolitan high schools in Perth, Western Australia, to better understand how young people navigate the dynamics and complex demands of classrooms. Jacinta’s experience sheds light on the ways in which schools are becoming increasingly irrelevant and inhospitable places for some of society’s most vulnerable and marginalised young people. The authors contend that far too many young people like Jacinta are being failed by society and excluded from the benefits of education. At the same time, Jacinta captures the sense of hope and optimism that many young people have for their imagined futures and it is this sense of agency that creates new possibilities for education based on the values of democracy, social justice, trust, respect and care for all.