Listening to 'the thick bunch': (mis)understanding and (mis)representation of young people in jobs without training

publication-status: Publishedtypes: ArticleYoung people in jobs without training are ubiquitous but invisible, working in shops, cafes, and other low‐waged, low‐status occupations. Commonly elided with young people who are not in education, employment or training, they are positioned as the ‘thick bunch’ with empty and meaningless working lives. The main purpose of the research was to explore the experiences of this group of marginalised and socially disadvantaged young people through a deeper understanding of their interests and enthusiasms inside and outside work. These young people have been (mis)understood and (mis)represented. A more holistic and nuanced approach that is not uncritically founded upon a set of neo‐liberal stereotypes and assumptions, and instead recognises the complexity of their lives, would offer new opportunities for understanding and representation of their interests. Our findings challenge the conflation of identity with work and the notion that only certain forms of employment create meaning

Living Beyond Words: Post-human Reflections on Making Music With Post-verbal People

Background: This paper draws on a longitudinal ethnographic study of music-making with \u27post-verbal\u27 people: those with stroke, learning difficulties, acquired brain injury, dementias or autism. Methods: Using embedded observation, arts workshops, interviews with families and carers and focus groups with Music Leaders, the project traced how inclusive music-making happens with \u27post-verbal\u27 people. It used post-human theory to illuminate and explore processes and benefits. Results: This paper fuses the practical and theoretical aspects of making music with post-verbal people, to understand both how it happens, and, what it signifies. It shows how post-verbal people use music to communicate and demonstrate their capacities, and analyses how those working with them use music to foster a sense of inclusion and belonging. Conclusions: By writing in collaboration across academia and community music practice the paper makes new and important contributions to both post-human thinking and capacities in learning, arts and health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved

Learning brokerage: Building bridges between learners and providers

Learning brokerage offers a means to tackle the UK’s ‘learning divide’, by helping learning providers to reach adults excluded from learning. This report presents early findings from a study on how brokerage works in communities and the workplace, and implications for post-16 learning and skills provision. Based on a literature review and wide consultation, it analyses the key functions and stages of learning brokerage, pointing to conditions that promote or hinder success. It challenges assumptions about the kinds of learning opportunities most likely to attract and support ‘new’ learners and includes a directory of examples

Doing Diversity and Evading Equality: The Case of Student Work Placements in the Creative Sector

‘Diversity’ has become an all-pervasive concept within Higher Education (HE). This chapter explores how the generic concept of diversity gets ‘done’ (Ahmed, 2006) within the particular context of HE work placements in the creative industries. It draws upon a recent qualitative study (Allen et al., 2010a) commissioned by the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU), the HE equality body in the UK. The study was designed to examine how Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) support students from ‘equality groups’ (defined by the ECU as disabled students, Black and minority ethnic (BME) students and students seeking to enter a labour market sector where there are significant gender imbalances) into positive and inclusive work placement experiences that will enhance their future employment prospects