Young people, learning and life-patterns Johanna Wyn Australian Youth Research Centre The University of Melbourne

Life-Patterns project Longitudinal, participatory study of Victorian school leavers from Mapping progress from final year of school to their late twenties Identify both objective progress and subjective assessments

Reporting l Annual reports to participants l Youth Research Centre Research Reports l Research Reports 14, 17, 19, 23, 27 l Working Paper 19 l Journal articles and books - Youth, Education and Risk (2001) - Youth and Society: the social dynamics of youth (2004)

Participatory Research l Blend of set and open-ended questions l Interviews (feedback on questions) Participant meanings can challenge researchers’ assumptions e.g. ‘career’, ‘family’

Benefits of longitudinal research l Identify the process of transition for individuals and for the cohort l Link individual transitions with processes of change at the societal level l Identify identities, subjectivities, attitudes that are associated with ‘success’

Research issues l Loss of sample over time representative? ‘success sample’? representative? ‘success sample’? l Interpretation of the data l Describe change without over-stating the case traditional structures and identities remain significant traditional structures and identities remain significant

Complexity Multiple commitments and choice l 56% balancing study and work l 51% changed track in the first two years Ideal – Reality Gap By 1996, 60% had completed their studies and 49% had a full-time job but only 34% were in their preferred job By 1996, 60% had completed their studies and 49% had a full-time job but only 34% were in their preferred job

The ‘new adulthood’ l valuing flexibility and mobility l personal autonomy, responsiveness l a balance of life commitments l new meanings of ‘career’ l the self as a ‘project’ Readily misunderstood as ‘faulty transitions’ The new, classed learner in a post-Fordist economy?

Faulty transitions to adulthood?  Extended transitions (Australia and UK)  Post-adolescence (UK)  Arrested Adulthood (Canada)  Generation on hold (Canada)  Over-age young adults (Netherlands)  Developmentally underdone (Australia) These all assume that there is something wrong with young people’s transition processes These all assume that there is something wrong with young people’s transition processes

What is a career? 80% or more said: l A job that offers scope for advancement l To be a career the job must offer commitment l Any ongoing role that offers personal fulfilment l A single career for life is a thing of the past

A career is: Not necessarily a permanent full-time job Not necessarily your job Not necessarily your source of income

Employment and Change % in full time employment Only 18% have held only 1 job since % have held between 2 and 4 jobs 20% have held 5 or more jobs since 1996 Overall, 82% have changed jobs in the last 5 years 55% changed for better opportunities

Social and economic change Has presented both young and old with new challenges Flexibility is seen as more important than predictability as a basis for future security in a post-industrial world e.g. valuing horizontal mobility over vertical mobility Work is not rewarding enough

How well do education policies and programs fit with the realities of young people’s lives?

Educational approaches

Conclusion Approaches to education need to take greater account of: The emergence of a ‘new adulthood’ involving shifts in approach to education and work The emergence of a ‘new adulthood’ involving shifts in approach to education and work The significance of learner identities The significance of learner identities Life-long learning Life-long learning  New Pedagogies?