The prevalence of 'life planning': Evidence from UK graduates

At a time when 'personal development planning' is being rolled out across the UK higher education sector, this paper explores young adults' inclinations to plan for the future in relation to work, relationships and other aspects of life. Although Giddens has emphasised the prevalence of strategic life planning (or the 'colonisation of the future') in all strata of contemporary society, du Bois Reymond has argued that there are important differences by social class, with young people from more privileged backgrounds more likely than their peers to engage in such life-planning activities. This paper draws on interviews with 90 young adults (in their mid-20s) to question some of these assumptions about relationships between social location and propensity to plan for the future. It shows how, within this sample at least, there was a strong association between having had a privileged 'learning career' (such as attending a high-status university and identifying as an 'academic high flier') and a disinclination to form detailed plans for the future. In part, this appeared to be related to a strong sense of ontological security and the confidence to resist what Giddens terms 'an increasingly dominant temporal outlook'. © 2008 Taylor & Francis

The predominance of work-based training in young graduates' learning

This article draws upon results from an ESRC-funded research project exploring young graduates' attitudes to, and experiences of, further education or learning postgraduation. Respondents' narratives indicated a strong emphasis upon job-based learning, or training, over and above an oft-stated desire to do further study 'for its own sake'. Whilst the majority of graduates expressed contentment with their work-leisure-education balance, a significant number also marked up a desire for 'leisure-learning' which was not 'yet' possible due to the demands of work and work-based training. This prompts questions about how we, and the graduates, conceptualise the 'use' of having a degree in an era of higher education massification, exploring issues of 'generic' skills and personal growth. It also raises questions about the role and function of wider 'lifelong learning' practices for those in their twenties, as well as the status of the work-leisure-education balance of young professionals, and whether this encourages or discourages efforts to develop a 'learning society'

Forum: cultural identity and (dis)continuities of children of immigrant communities

Susan Harper’s study centres on ‘funds of knowledge’ as a pedagogical resource for the development of a science curriculum, drawing on Karen refugee parents’ cultural knowledge and identity. She argues that engagement in this process helps the parent generation of this community to ‘rebuild their cultural resilience’ and cope with the resettlement process (p. 43). Drawing on our own research with Somali, Sierra Leonean and Nigerian diaspora communities in London, the following article extends this discussion with a particular focus on the intricate intergenerational dynamics between children and their parents’ generation in relation to cultural identity development though engagement with education.</p

Travail, temps libre et domaines d'épanouissement chez les mères de famille: Comparaison entre les mères de familles monoparentales et biparentales

La famille est conceptualisée comme entre l'individu et la société: des différences dans la structure familiale impliquent des modes différents d'articulation de ses membres au niveau sociétal. Ainsi, les mères de familles monoparentales ne sont pas que des mères sans conjoint; ce statut familial a des implications sur leur rapport à l'activité et sur leur position sociale. Le modèle adopté pour l'étude d'un échantillon suisse de 8923 mères (dont 600 chefs de familles monoparentales) inclut en conséquence des paramètres familiaux et des paramètres sociétaux. Les résultats attestent la pertinence du modèle d'analyse et mettent en évidence le caractère fallacieux d'un modèle limité aux variables familiales. Ainsi, par exemple, c'est l'activité des mères qui détermine principalement leur évaluation des temps sociaux et non pas le conjoint pris en soi. En revanche, la présence ou l'absence de ce dernier oriente de manière substantielle la quête d'épanouissement des mères.The family is conceived of as a link between society and the individual. The various types of relationships between the family members and the society mirror the differences within the family structure. Thus, single mothers are not only mothers without a partner; this status impacts on their attitude towards work and on their social position. The study of a sample of 8923 Swiss mothers (including 600 single household heads) therefore encompasses family and social parameters. The findings support the validity of the theoretical construct, and show that an approach limited to family variables would be misleading. For example, a mother's evaluation of social times depends mainly on her work load rather than on her partner. On the other hand, the latter's presence or absence has a major impact on her positive attitudes towards life.La familia está conceptualizada como el punto medio entre el individuo y la sociedad: diferencias en la estructura familiar implican modos diferentes de articulación de sus miembros al nivel de la sociedad. De esta manera las madres de familia solas (o madres solteras) no es otra cosa que las madres sin cónyuge; esta categoría familiar tiene implicaciones en su actitud hacia las actividades y a su posición social. El modelo adoptado por el estudio de una muestra de 8923 madres suizas (entre ellas 600 madres solas jefes de familia), incluye la importancia de los parámetros familiares y de los parámetros sociales. Los resultados testimonian la pertinencia del modelo de análisis y ponen en evidencia el caraácter falaz de un modelo limitado a las variables familiares. Así, por ejemplo, es la actividad de las madres la que determina principalmente su evaluación del tiempo social y no su cónyuge, si éste se toma en cuenta. En cambio la presencia o la ausencia de un cónyuge orienta de manera substancial la búsqueda de la satisfacción de las madres