Conflicting communication about the ownership and meaning of places in a school in south west England

An ethnographic study of a school operating within challenging socio-economic circumstances in South West England focused on conflict between staff members and students over the ownership of place within the school. The meanings given by students to specific places within and around the school permitted exploring the changing relationships within those spaces. Ralph and Levinson investigated the nature of place established through conflict. Students constructed perceptions of self through being allocated certain spaces within the school. At the same time, they imposed their own meanings on places in order to stake a claim to those places. In doing so, they showed understandings of the purpose of place, and they subverted meanings through the way in which they inhabited specific spaces