Class Young People Research Articles

Working class educational transitions to university: The limits of success

AbstractEducational transitions experienced within a context of wide and growing inequalities such as England result in very different transition experiences to those experienced by young people growing up in relatively equitable societies with strong communal links. Transitions of working class young people in England are beset with competition, individualism and low expectations. Employing Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, capital and field, the article argues that working class transitions to university reveal the failure of the English educational system to provide anything like a level playing field to support working class young people who are seen to be educational successes. Focusing on those working class young people who are particularly successful by gaining access to elite universities the paper argues that even this small select group face discrimination, set‐backs, and a degree of social exclusion. The paper concludes that the vast majority of working class young people, including many of those who are the most academically successful have very different transitions to higher education, and experiences within it, from their middle and upper class peers.

1950년대 테디 보이(Teddy boys) 스타일의 모방 특성 : 르네 지라르의 모방적 욕망 이론을 중심으로

The purpose of this study is to examine the origin of the “Teddy boys,” who were part of youth fashion and subculture in the 1950s, using René Girard’s mimetic desire theory as a framework. In addition, this study analyzes the meaning of the Teddy boy style, which combined Edwardian style with that of the American West, and reveals that strong needs and motives were behind the superficial image borrowed by participants in this subculture. The Teddy boy style was a subculture that emerged in the 1950s in working class young people in the United Kingdom. It gained momentum and the attention of young people who were leading social culture at the time . They revealed the country’s collective consciousness and formed their identity by borrowing the Edwardian look and the imitated attire of the upper class. After examining the Teddy boy style using René Girard’s mimetic desire theory, their imitation characteristics can be described as follows: First, the Teds (as they were also called) imitated the luxurious and ornamental Edwardian style as well as the luxury preference of the upper class. The metaphysical value they desired through the model was the right to luxury and, in turn, the comfort and happiness of material goods, luxurious tastes, the self-gratification that distinguishes it from others with luxurious tastes, and an affordable and stable quality of life. Second, they assumed the ideal imitating object, modified by incorporating the Edwardian look with the American Western look. The low status of the working class was economically and socially frustrating to the Teddy boys, and they needed new ideals to imitate. The object of the revised desire created by them was obtainable high social status, economic stability, and voluntary self-esteem as a cultural subject.

Introducción: «Te vas pensando que has dejado atrás a zombis». La emigración juvenil: ¿aventura o exilio?

Uno de los efectos de la crisis económica de 2008 ha sido la emigración de una parte de la juventud española hacia el extranjero, en especial hacia Europa. Las narrativas culturales del fenómeno son ambivalentes: por una parte se ve como una aventura atractiva (que animan a emprender algunos políticos y empresarios), por otra parte se ve como un exilio forzado (que denuncian movimientos sociales y organizaciones juveniles). Aunque tal proceso migratorio evoca uno anterior más masivo —el que tuvo lugar durante los años 50 y 60 del siglo pasado—, sus protagonistas han cambiado: ya no se trata de jóvenes rurales y obreros, con bajo capital educativo, sino de jóvenes urbanos y mesocráticos, a menudo hiperformados. También han cambiado las estrategias de movilidad y comunicación que utilizan: el tren, la carta y los viajes sin retorno son remplazados por aviones low-cost, Skype y viajes pendulares. En cualquier caso, tal proceso se inscribe y acompaña el «viaje antropológico» desde el estudio de los «otros» (los jóvenes en tránsito desde el sur global hacia España) al estudio del «nosotros» (nuestros propios jóvenes en tránsito hacia el norte global). El artículo introduce los textos que componen este número de Temas Emergentes, y se propone analizar la emigración juvenil como un «hecho social total», en términos de Marcel Mauss, que pone en movimiento los recursos económicos, familiares, políticos e ideológicos del conjunto de la sociedad, en un contexto de crisis y renovación

Música y danza como espacios de participación de los jóvenes hijos de migrantes bolivianos y paraguayos en Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Este artículo se desprende de una tesis doctoral que –desde una perspectiva antropológica- se enfocó en las identificaciones y formas de participación de la “segunda generación” de inmigrantes en la ciudad capital de la Argentina. En el presente análisis se retoman algunos aspectos de la participación de los hijos de bolivianos y paraguayos de Buenos Aires a partir del examen de sus prácticas artístico-culturales, especialmente de música y danza vinculada al origen de sus padres. Tomando en cuenta los procesos de identificación de la generación de los hijos, se pretende situar a estas prácticas artísticas y a la participación de estos jóvenes en el marco de ciertas coyunturas y cambios actuales (que exceden el ámbito de la ciudad y el país, y alcanzan un nivel inter/ trans-nacional). De este modo se propone una concepción de “lo político” desde una perspectiva diferente a la que remite a las prácticas tradicionales desde las cuales se piensa la participación social y/o política, que brinde elementos para concebir a la música y a la danza como herramientas de transformación especialmente entre jóvenes urbanos de sectores populares.

Unintended volunteers: the volunteering pathways of working class young people in community sport

ABSTRACTSport has become a major setting for youth volunteering in the UK. Volunteering has become understood as a means of enhancing responsible citizenship and of adding various capitals to young people’s identities. Much research on young people’s volunteering in sport has typically (and sometimes by default) focused on middle class experiences, highlighting the combination of instrumental and altruistic motives for volunteering, the importance of family and school in decisions about volunteering and its perceived longer-term benefits. This article focuses on the experiences of young working class volunteers and is based on an evaluation of five community sport projects that were part of the StreetGames Building a Participation Legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Disadvantaged Areas initiative. Data from a combination of semi-structured interviews and focus groups were analysed to understand working class young people’s volunteering pathways, including their initial engagement, motives and understanding of challenges and benefits. The findings from this study indicate that, in contrast to many middle class young people, these young people’s routes into volunteering were not part of a strategic career plan, but occurred contingently and with support from coaches. Young people subsequently suggested that volunteering and its scope for gaining formal training helped them to develop skills associated with desirable forms of social and cultural capital that might lead to labour market attachment, particularly in sport. These findings have important implications for understanding how social class shapes pathways into youth volunteering in the UK and for developing appropriate policy to encourage a wider range of young people to volunteer.

The reform of the continuation schools in Munich and the establishment of the dual system in vocational education

The reform of vocational education in Serbia is focused on the introduction of the so called dual system. The current form of this system originates from the reforms of the continuation schools in Germany near the end of the nineteenth century. The paper presents the reform of these schools led by Georg Kerschensteiner, one of the founders of the dual system. The first part of the article is devoted to a wider economic and social context in Germany at the end of the nineteenth century and the problem of the working - class young people, which led to the educational reform. The central part of the paper considers the reform of the continuation schools in Munich from the theoretical aspect and the aspect of the realization. The main goal of education in continuation schools, according to Kerschensteiner's pedagogic concept is the development of moral character of students, future citizens. The goal was to be achieved through three tasks in the domain of education: individual, social and civic education. The realization of the reform was analyzed from the perspective of the organization of teaching, and the roles of the participants: students, teachers, employers and municipalities. The end of the paper gives an account of the effects of the reform and public discussions initiated on that occasion. The conclusion stresses the importance of studying the Munich's reform and Kerschensteiner's pedagogic concept especially in those countries where the reform of vocational education is planned.

Undergraduates’ memories of school-based work experience and the role of social class in placement choices in the UK

This paper reports findings from a study of 49 young first-year UK undergraduates who had undergone one or two weeks of work experience at school between the ages of 14 and 16. Previous studies focusing on the whole school cohort suggested that the nature of work experience placements was strongly predicted by class. In particular, middle class families were seen as being able to secure higher-quality placements than working class families through their higher levels of social capital. This study of young people in the large minority subset subsequently progressing to higher education also found evidence of stereotypical placement choices. However, this was situated in low-quality placements that were irrelevant to the participants’ eventual career path. One notable finding was that a significant proportion of working class students had exercised considerable personal agency to secure high-quality placements. This could challenge structuralist interpretations of young people’s decision-making, although the possibility of a retrospective construction of an explanatory narrative is noted. This paper concludes that more effort is needed to push academically-able working class young people towards placements that will increase motivation and widen horizons and that government needs to be clearer about its policy aims in this area.

Crossing the line? White young people and community cohesion

The emergence of community cohesion as a British policy priority has represented a discursive shift in approaches to race relations, the emphasis on ethnic diversity downplayed in favour of commonality, shared values and the promotion of national identity. Central to community cohesion has been a focus on ‘contact’ as a way of overcoming ‘parallel lives’, and the need for communities to take responsibility within processes of contact and dialogue. The political focus, echoing past assimilationist discourses, has been on an alleged lack of integration on the part of Muslims; by contrast little attention is paid to how white working class young people view the contact central to cohesion strategies. This paper draws on case study evidence from Oldham and Rochdale, Greater Manchester to interpret the limited support the young white respondents have for cross-ethnic contact, and the relevance of class experience to these views.

Emotional geographies of young people's aspirations for adult life

For the last decade, the aspirations of working class young people have been a significant policy concern in the UK, with a range of interventions being implemented to work on and ‘raise’ them (particularly through initiatives to widen participation in higher education). This paper considers the emotional geographies of young people's aspirations. Interventions to ‘raise’ young people's aspirations act on an emotional/affective level (creating ‘wow’ moments that affect their perceptions of what is possible) but seldom engage holistically with the full range of emotions that young people experience in relation to their imagined adult lives. The prioritisation of progression to higher education (and, by extension, professional careers) as the most acceptable ‘aspirations’ to have overlooks the wide range of other ambitions young people have for their adult lives (and how these often rest upon the desire for emotional security and happiness). This disconnection between working class young people's aspirations and those promoted by policy interventions undermines efforts to inspire more working class teenagers to progress to HE and creates greater emotional risk for those that do so.

Alternative sport programmes and social inclusion in Norway

This article examines the ‘alternative’ sport and physical activities provided by the Sports City Programme (SCP) in Norway, which are designed to attract more young people (especially inactive young people) to take part in physical activities. In particular, it examines whether these ‘alternative’ sports have been more successful than conventional sports in breaking down class and gender-based barriers to participation. The data indicate that the SCP has proved more attractive to working class young people than conventional sport and there is also some evidence that the SCP has had some success in breaking down gender barriers, especially among working class girls. However, one aspect of the SCP - the open sport hall - has generated a pattern of male dominance and female exclusion which is even more unequal than that which characterizes conventional sport. Within the open sport hall, young people are left largely to organize their own activities and it is argued that the relative absence of adult control in the open sport hall has facilitated the development of a distinctively masculine culture which is dominated by the older, stronger males and which marginalizes young females.

'Knowing their limits'? Identities, inequalities and inner city school leavers' post-16 aspirations

This paper draws upon data collected from 20 working class, inner city pupils in a British (London) school (in Year 11, aged 15/16 years) as part of a research study exploring the ways in which young people understand their options and identities. Pilot study data is used to develop an analysis of the processes through which inner city, working class young people come to leave school at the age of 16. Attention is drawn to issues of identity and inequality within processes of leaving education. In particular, we highlight the ways in which the young people viewed themselves as ‘not good enough’ and ‘knew their limits’ in relation to post-compulsory educational routes. It is suggested that these views were constructed and compounded by complex social and institutional factors, and were exacerbated by educational policies that impact upon inner city ‘failing’ schools and disadvantaged communities.

Imagined Adulthood: Resources, plans and contradictions

In this paper we illustrate the contradictory consequences of female individualization by exploring young people's imagined futures, drawing on an analysis of 'lifelines' collected as part of an ongoing longitudinal qualitative study of young people's transitions to adulthood. We discuss the method and compare lifelines across the sample. We suggest that while there are areas of consensus (such as the hetero-normative goal of marriage and children by 35) the traditionally gendered transitions to adulthood are under pressure, a pressure that is exerted most strongly by working class young people. Through three contrasting case studies we illustrate how the ways in which young people imagine their futures are constrained by the resources and possibilities of their particular social locations.

‘What about the boys?’: Regendered Local Labour Markets and the Recomposition of Working Class Masculinities

Abstract This paper arises out of our recent work investigating the construction of masculinities. During the research, the issue of the interplay between masculine subjectivities and social destinies became a major concern. This paper seeks to complement parallel studies being conducted with young women on the fashioning of feminine identities. It is suggested here that changing masculine subject positions need to be located within the interrelated nexus of the restratification of state schooling, the restructuring of local labour markets, the development of diverse family forms, recent media representations of masculinities and the resulting reconstitution of working class young people. The primary focus of this paper is to argue the case for bringing together recent relevant literatures around these issues. This will enable us to develop theory‐led empirical research that explores the processes involved in young working class men's new transitions into becoming adults, within the context of training re...

Livelihood and Social Division

Abstract The struggle for livelihood has always been of central concern to working class people. In Australia today the concentration of unemployment raises issues which must be seen as part of an historical process, involving the reconstruction of social division and the struggle for the right to subsistence. These issues are examined in this article, with particular attention to the social and economic changes which have produced this threat to livelihood. Our research has shown that the responses of working class young people to this situation bring into sharp relief the complex social processes through which social division is produced. The evidence suggests that the cultural perspectives of working class males and females in Australia still have a force and significance which represent a potential challenge to the present pattern of restructuring of the economy which has resulted in such widespread unemployment. This raises particular questions about the growth in local employment initiatives in Australia (as in Europe) and its implications for curriculum development in schools in working class neighbourhoods.