Managing youth transitions in the Network Society

Castells argues that society is being reconstituted according to the global logic of networks. This paper discusses the ways in which a globalised network logic transforms the nature young people's transitions from school to work. Furthermore, the paper explores the ways in which this network logic restructured the manner in which youth transitions are managed via the emergence of a Vocational Education and Training (VET) agenda in Australian post compulsory secondary schooling. It also notes the implications of the emergence of the 'network society' for locality generally and for selected localities specific to the research upon which this paper is based. It suggests that schools represent nodes in a range of VET and other networks, and shows how schools and other agencies in particular localities mobilise their expertise to construct such networks. These networks are networked, funded and regulated at various levels - regionally, nationally and globally. But, they are also facilitated by personal networking opportunities and capacities. The paper also points to the ways in which the 'reflexivity chances' of young people are shaped by this network logic - a situation that generates new forms of responsibility, for schools and teachers, with regard to the management of youth transitions.

Occupational aspirations of sixth-grade children

The present study examined the occupational aspirations of sixth-grade children in terms of occupational category, minimum education level and gender. In addition, the study identified the sources of occupational information used by the children and the factors they thought could influence them toward or away from a job. The study found that all of the children were able to express occupational aspirations. While the children obtained occupational information from a range of sources, including the media and family, the source most likely to influence them toward or away from choosing a job was family.

The social construction of PETE in higher education: Toward a research agenda

The focus of this paper is the social construction of physical education teacher education (PETE) and its fate within the broader process of curriculum change in the physical activity field. Our task is to map the dimensions of a research program centered on the social construction of the physical activity field and PETE in higher education. Debates in the pages of Quest and elsewhere over the past two decades have highlighted not only the contentious nature of PETE practices and structures but also that PETE is changing. This paper offers one way of making sense of the ongoing process of contestation and struggle through the presentation of a theoretical framework. This framework, primarily drawing upon the work of Lave and Wenger (1991) and Bernstein (1990, 1996), is described before it is used to study the social construction of PETE in Australia. We assess the progress that has been made in developing this research program, and the questions already evident for further developments of a program of study of the physical activity field in higher education.

An occupational view of the Australian labour force - Patterns of job growth and decline

Generally employment has been studied in terms of changes in the types of goods and services that the economy is purchasing. Far less attention has been given to the occupational aggregates that go into producing these goods and services. The few studies that did investigate this area found that the mix of tabour inputs appear to have been changing over time in a systematic pattern. The increasing prevalence of white-collar, information workers gave rise to the assertion that many societies had entered a post-industrial information age. Deals first of aff with some issues of measurement in the context of the Australian labour force, then looks at trends in various occupational groups using a non-standard four-sector classification of the labour force. Finally suggests an application in relation to the link between education and training and its ability to reduce structural unemployment.