Session Information
05 SES 11 A, Agency And Context: The Experiences Of Young People In Educational Settings.
Symposium
Contribution
The claim that “education is our best economic policy” (Blair in Ball 2008: p.12) has seen an increased focus on entrepreneurship in the curriculum throughout all areas of education in Scotland (Allison 2011). Based on a research model founded on theories of critical realism, social capital and agency, this study examined young people’s learning outcomes from engaging in an enterprise education programme. The study was conducted in an urban youth centre, governed by the education authority of the 5th largest local authority in Scotland. Ten at-risk fifteen year olds (five male and five female), who were about to leave secondary school, attended an alternative curricular project and in addition volunteered to take part in the “Micro-Tyco” (2015) challenge. This charitable enterprise competition awards teams of up to five participants €3 Euros (approximately £1 GBP) and 30 days in which to “grow” a profitable business where the money raised funds a micro-finance programme for business start-ups in developing nations. Tangible results such as profit and qualifications were considered as well as non-tangible aspects like social networks and aspirations. Consideration was given to the means that young people use to form and break social connections alongside how past experiences, present circumstances and imagined futures combine to support the emergence of agency. The view that agency supports choice and provides a catalyst for action (Emirbayer & Goodwin 1994) allowed for decision making and action by participants to be examined. Findings suggest that there are limits as to how agency can be achieved as it is often a matter of personal capacity to act combined with the contingencies of the environment (Priestley et al 2011) suggesting that educational policy needs to be flexible to take account of the context of both educational practitioners and young people.
References
Allison, M. (2011) Social Capital, Young People and Enterprise: key research issues, A Journal of Youth Work, Vol 1 (8) 27-46 Ball, S.J. (2008) The Education Debate (1st Ed) Bristol: Policy Press. Emirbayer, M. & Goodwin, J. (1994) Network Analysis, Culture, and the Problem of Agency, The American Journal of Sociology, Vol.99, (6) 1411-1454 Micro-Tyco http://www.wildheartsinaction.org/microtyco/ accessed 30th January 2015 Priestley, M., Edwards, R., Miller, K. and Priestley, A. (2011) Teacher Agency in Curriculum Making: agents of change and spaces for manoeuvre. Essay edition. University of Stirling
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