Programme full

Friday 17 April 2015 15:15 - 16:45
PAPER SESSION 8
social mobility and educational research largely neglected the role of secondary school subjects in the reproduction of
social inequalities. The paper benefits from a large new data source for Scotland, the Scottish Longitudinal Study
(SLS), which links 2001 Census data to administrative school data (2007-2010). These unique data provide detailed
information on parental background characteristics, household and neighbourhood information, school attendance and
school attainment at various stages (including attainment in different subjects at secondary level).
Parents' Role in Young People's Educational Decision-making in the Context of Autonomous Choice and
Individualization
Hegna, K., Smette, I.
(University of Oslo)
Young people's first choice of non-compulsory education is highly structured according to their social background, yet
often construed as an individual, free choice in educational counselling pamphlets for youths. Counsellors in
Norwegian schools support this notion, while seeing parents' ambitions and aspirations for their child as a threat,
particularly for minority youths' choice of education. Based on a survey of 2029 youths in their last year of compulsory
school in Oslo, Norway, we describe the role of parents in their choice of education. The analyses shows that 4 of 10
students found the choice to be difficult, and that more than half had received advice and information from their
parents. Among these, 20 percent of majority youths and 45 percent of minority youths said that their parents had
made a strong impact on their choice of education. While there was no difference between the two groups as far as
positive support and interest from parents was concerned, the minority youths reported a considerably higher level of
attempts at influencing, negative or strong opinions from their parents. However, a qualitative analysis of written
explanations of what made their choice of education so difficult, revealed that minority youths was underrepresented
among those describing disagreement and conflicts with their parents over this. The results are interpreted as a
consequence of parents' different communication and child rearing styles, where majority parents are more likely to
excert influence in hidden and undercommunicated ways, while minority parents' aspirations for their child are more in
the open.
The Paradox of the Raising of Participation Age Policy in a Further Education College: A Pilot Study
Cornish, C.
(University of Essex)
This research study examines the outcomes of the Raising of Participation Age (RPA) policy on a local Further
Education (FE) college in East Anglia under neo-liberalism. This paper is based on a pilot study with FE lecturers and
students on the Levels 1, 2 and 3 courses in the Faculty of Health and Education. A multi-method research approach
has been used whereby the research participants have engaged in questionnaires, focus group discussions, semistructured
interviews and classroom observations with the aim to examine the actual educational experiences of
students in the FE classroom. The study uses a Neo-Marxist framework to explore how the RPA policy has been
framed to construct hegemonic notions and reproduce social inequality. The research findings indicate that the RPA
students in the study have a positive view of the RPA policy. However, it was found that negative classroom
conditions, disruptive student behaviour and challenging work conditions hinder positive student outcomes. The staff
data highlights that the students' welfare issues have created this need for pastoral support, a duty they now have to
undertake alongside educational duties. This paper, however, argues that the FE lecturers' operational practices have
constructed a deficit ideology, whereby they aim to 'fix' students, and also restore their diminished agency in an
education sector that operates along tight financial and political constraints. Hence, this study finds that both the
students and staff members experience various degrees of multiple structural, financial and operational barriers that
essentially challenge levels of participation and positive student outcomes.
Work, Employment and Economic Life 1
A005, GOVAN MBEKI BUILDING
The Artisanal Eras: Shaping the Identity of the 21st Century British Artisan
Sharples, L.
(London Metropolitan University)
Extracted from the early chapters of my current doctoral thesis, "From Guitar Makers to Surfboard Shapers: A
Biographical Study of the 21st Century British Artisan", this discussion focuses on the key framework surrounding my
research: The Artisanal Eras.
BSA Annual Conference 2015 306
Glasgow Caledonian University