Abstract
The purpose of this article is to examine whether the normative expectations among masons has positive or negative influence on young people’s interest in masonry. The norms and values a vocation’s practitioners operate with may affect the appeal of the vocation to new and potential apprentices. Yet, whether or not a vocation continues to survive depend on how successful its norms and values order expectations of different categories of people in its fold. Data were derived from interviews and focused discussions among 30 masons and 16 apprentices. The results show that normative relations between masons and apprentices increase apprentices’ anxiety. There are indications that apprentices find challenging some of the conventions that dictate the process of training. Whereas master masons feel less concern about traditional expectations on apprentices, many apprentices believe that some aspects of informal apprenticeship training process emphasize disturbing social and economic interaction with attendant disinterestedness among apprentices.
Highlights
The purpose of this article is to examine whether the normative expectations among masons has positive or negative influence on young people’s interest in masonry
We explored the processes of traditional apprenticeship training as practiced among and experienced by the Nigerian masons and apprentices respectively
All of our participants are of the opinion that under no circumstance do learning/knowledge transfer between an apprentice and expert mason occur without first agreeing on at least two issues: the number of years an apprentice will be under the guidance and tutorship of the expert; and two financial obligations
Summary
The purpose of this article is to examine whether the normative expectations among masons has positive or negative influence on young people’s interest in masonry. It has been acknowledged that commonsense understanding of apprenticeship and a good deal of academic research on the subject take for granted that the apprenticeship relation serves to pass on technical knowledge on the one hand and cultural values on the other (Argenti, 2002). This may be a consequence of lack of appreciation of how practitioners’ normative expectations shape apprenticeship engagement. Structure of apprenticeship have drawn scholarly attention especially among ethnologists (Simpson, 2006), anthropologists (Argenti, 2002) and sociologists (Wang, 2015; Lancy, 2012), until very recently there have been few studies that examined whether the normative
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
