Based on a research project that investigated a grassroots programme offering English language classes for precarious migrant workers (mainly cleaners) at the IOE, this talk discusses the challenges and opportunities of such initiatives in the context of wider dynamics of inequality, precarity, and marginalisation that are impacting the lives of these workers. I critically evaluate the (im)possibilities of forging pathways for collaboration and engagement to work towards the development of sustainable language and wider learning opportunities to strengthen precarious migrant workers’ rights, inclusion, and wellbeing at the university. Given that Higher Education institutions across the UK are employing significant numbers of precarious migrant workers, I argue that developing a culture of social responsibility around their access to language learning and wider learning opportunities in the workplace is a pertinent issue to ensure more equitable and inclusive educational futures and ask what this could look like in practice.
Education Conference 1