The key findings of this research conclude a two stage research project based on a mixed methods analysis focusing on the potential for meaningful transitions for working class young people in an age of austerity and how that is influenced by education. In order to understand these results the following analysis will employ the direct application of the theoretical framework, locate the findings within the literature, and relate the resulting insights back to the core focuses of the research questions.
In order to understand the effect education has on participants during their year in the labour market, as detailed in Chapter 6, it is key to recognise that the way in which success is measured for young people is underpinned by normative understandings which view the youth period as inherently transitional; as Wexler (1992) states, during this period we become someone. As referred to in the literature review, it is less common however to consider to what extent this becoming is actually a cessation of something fundamental (Section 3.2.1) (Breakwell, 1985). The purpose and definition which a job provides is what defines us, (Gini, 2009; Selenko et al, 2017), and for those unable to achieve this definition a vacuum is left behind. In line with the theoretical framework individuals without formal work are understood to be alienated from the wage labour system or in other cases included in it yet failing to benefit materially in a sustainable way. As more and more of us are no longer required by an economy that once promised prosperity (Vermeulen et al, 2018) the ability for the sort of young people detailed in this study to manipulate work into forms which represent tools for conviviality becomes more essential than ever but also increasingly difficult.
Participants evidenced a not uncommon view that they themselves were to blame for the difficulties they were experiencing in the labour market. This phenomenon would appear to correspond to the UK
government’s focus on individualising the problem of immobility, and as such is consistent with the focuses of the neoliberal turn and educational reforms which have placed the success of the individual at the heart of academic progress (Hargreaves, 1980; 2003; Wiggan, 2012; Thorburn, 2018). Viewing self-criticism of this sort through the lens of the dual society we can see the autonomy of the individual is only envisaged through an economic lens, a process which inevitably reflects back on the participants and shapes their views (Young, 1986). It was to some extent inevitable that a cohort of the sort researched in this study
180 would possess a sense of negative self-reflection about their educational experience, yet it was not clear this would be characterised by a lack of self-worth regarding academic capabilities and evident resentment towards individual actors in their educational history in particular. Notions of resentment and the feeling of failure can be understood within the concept of tools for conviviality. As articulated in Section 3.4.1 Illich (2001:7) said that tools for conviviality are “those which give each person who uses them the greatest opportunity to enrich the environment with the fruits of his or her vision”. The participants generally expressed their resentment in terms of being given direction that did not fit in with their own designs, or the sense of being misunderstood by individuals within their school. As such, there was very little of their own vision or expression within the very structured reality of their education. This in turn led to a
disengagement with legitimate learning processes and degraded their interest in academic advancement.
Through the theory of the precariat we can understand that some of the difficulties described in the results in Chapters 6, 7 and 8 are a symptom of a post-labour age (Casey, 1995; Bell, 1999; Strangleman and Warren, 2008). Clearly when capitalism is unable to provide sustainable work for those ready and willing to engage in it, there is at the very least a flaw in the ideal vision of that model (Gorz, 1999). The experiences of the participants in the research provides evidence for a class below even the precariat in terms of work insecurity, one defined by their equal parts educational disadvantage, despite the fact that few of the individuals who took part would see themselves in this way. As is referenced in the literature (Section
3.2.6), denial of the economic reality in which we exist is a common requirement to get by and a
prerequisite for simply realising subsistence levels of survival within our economy (Bourdieu, 1987). The participants that found work often did so only for a short period with low pay making it difficult for them to foresee a future without either returning to education or spending significant periods in and out of work (Standing, 2014). As identified by MacDonald & Shildrick (2018), the young people in the research were often entering a low pay, no pay cycle that is likely to become the lasting definition of their working life, with their ability to plan a future becoming increasingly limited (McDowell, 2012).
In essence the above described stalled transitions are a problem for the widely accepted belief in social mobility. It appears, as in line with Section 2.4.1, the economic and social climate in a city like Glasgow has been particularly poor at allowing mobility for the demographic studied in this research (Gugushvili, 2017; Esping-Anderson & Cimentada, 2018). The cohort were largely accustomed to the idea they may not do as well as their parents (Arnett, 2000), but had also been predisposed to the idea that they were supposed to do better. An expectation which creates a further hurdle over which they cannot jump. The fact
participants felt that their likely work destinations were inherently linked to what their parents had achieved in the past cannot be extricated from the concept of the dual society, in particular the sense that individuals are drawn away from their own desires by unsurpassable external forces.
181 The aspirational goals of children and their parents, despite divergent upbringings, were largely evidenced in both data stages as being very similar. Chiming with research which shows that aspirations have
remained consistent across generations with only marginal variance, this speaks to a reality that is apparent in international research also (Erikson & Goldthorpe, 1992; Turok et al, 2009; Batchelor et al, 2017; SMC, 2018). Austerity as a historical force has shaped the contemporary reality individuals in this research will experience during their formative years, embodying a power that is enacted upon them and thus one that is outside of their control. In this sense young people construct their visions of work and education around nostalgic and economic ideals based on what their parents/guardians want for them, only to encounter a historical period which makes it increasingly difficult to achieve those goals. The experience of being influenced heavily by the past is in equal parts significant in this equation, in particular in regards geographical and parental influences, a phenomenon in that sense which is also a class influenced experience and this was evidenced in an interesting way through participants’ identification with geographical characteristics above other understandings (Section 5.2). The anchoring to a particular geographical area matches MacDonald’s (2005) insight regarding local nomadism, a process by which individuals born into disadvantaged communities not only stay within their own urban area but tend to move only within a very localised geography within them.
Aside from those who were active in apprenticeships the general forms of work the participants had found in their year after school were often menial and formulaic. Work of this kind falls under the rubric of utilising the activities of humans until they are part of a process of unbuilding, reducing their contributions down to simple minimal activities. As articulated in Section 3.2.3, the prevalence of these kinds of
employment are representative of a lengthy policy programme to deregulate and diminish the importance of skill (Levitas, 2012). Clearly there are parallels with Sennett’s (2009) concept of craft identified in the theoretical framework, with participants reflecting some sense of the idea that their work outcomes are purely functional for the economy and ultimately devoid of purpose (Furlong & Cartmel, 2006; Bradford & Cullen, 2014). As argued in the theoretical framework, there is space to understand that functional
relationship as highlighting an opportunity to unite the ideals of craftsmanship and a skills based education. If we can incorporate this into our modern economic regime in which 'dislocation is a permanent fact' (Sennett, 2009:266), then we can remove some of the limitations of the dual society that restrict the transitions of young people.
As cited in the key findings (Section 8.1) there was a strong perception that the participants, and the generation they felt they belonged to had received a difficult hand in the economy, with not insignificant evidence of established resentment towards authority and particular individuals or groups within their life story (Reay et al., 2001; Roberts, 2009). This sentiment matches the findings of Pemberton et al (2016a) who concluded that young people in difficult economic situations largely framed their experience of stalled
182 transitions as a result of a series of life events that lay beyond their control. The evidence shows that this resentment was in no small way related to the reality of austerity. It is evident that Glasgow has suffered disproportionately from austerity, in no small part due to the heavily post-industrial nature of the city, with many of the once abundant manufacturing jobs relocated due to the prevalence of globalisation unlikely to return, leaving the onset of automation as a direct threat to hoped for new employment (Rifkin, 1997; Autor, 2015; Lawrence et al, 2017; Livingstone, 2018). Despite this, there was very little appetite for alternative work forms evidenced that might go some way to addressing these concerns. Advocates of one example, Universal Basic Income (Section 2.5), implicitly accept automation as an inevitability, yet that belief has yet to permeate public consciousness as a whole. The ingrained work related mindset of
communities and individuals cannot be surpassed through ideals alone (Carr, 2015) and the traditional bias towards ostensibly conservative ideas of hard work and self-sufficiency will not be easily overcome (Jordan, 2011).
Finally, the general social attitudes of young people in the research were much more socially conservative than media and academic perceptions assume (Grasso et al, 2017). These perceptions, based on the oral reports given in Stage 2, were specific and shaped by educational experience and familial connections (Odair, 2003). The reason this is of importance is that many academic investigations work under the assumption of an inherently more progressive age group when dealing with young people. As clarified by Reay (2017) however, the social experience of class is not reflected in our educational system and thus young people from those backgrounds are much less likely to see their place in it, seeking to blame other factors for any disharmony they experience. Just as would be found in any cross section of society there are those that embrace liberal narratives and those that do not, and when looking at a group such as that studied here, it is understandable why the particular views many of them express develop (Evans & Tilley, 2017). These attitudes further extended to notions like social security benefits, attitudes which were identified in other research also (Shildrick & MacDonald, 2013; Taylor-Gooby, 2016; Kevins et al, 2018). Due to the aforementioned insights it is apposite to conclude that where present attitudes towards alternative forms of work were luke warm at best and by and large understanding of the possibility for an economy not based solely on the wage labour model was sparse.
As cited in the theoretical framework (Section 3.5) austerity has only heightened anxiety about the wisdom of changing course in an individual’s school to work transitions and as such the participants in this study have evidenced a proactivity regarding work that is uncommon. The entirety of this research, and the reasons for that proactivity, cannot be accurately understood outside of the historical period of austerity which has been unprecedented since the Second World War. Cooper & Dumpleton (2013) believe that austerity has been characterised as a time in which the social safety net is failing in its basic duty to ensure that families have access to sufficient income to even feed themselves adequately, policies Morris
183 (2016:107) states the UK government see as representing ‘coherence and rationality’. Despite this wider economic context, participants by and large comprehended their inability to get onto a firm economic footing as simply part of an ordinary development, a finding equally articulated further in the research of Furlong & Cartmel (2004) and Shildrick et al (2016). This is a result of what Lareau (2011) sees as the accomplishment of natural growth i.e. meeting subsistence requirements is viewed as tantamount to success. When taking this into account and the fraught transitions described in every chapter of this research it is without question fair to say that young people have navigated modern employment contexts with great difficulty and the extent to which this is influenced by educational experience is considerable.
The answers to the two research questions offer as many avenues for further consideration as they do conclusions, but taken together we can conclude that some sense of meaning, or indeed purpose beyond the solely economic, is a worthy consideration in attempts to navigate the after effects of austerity and the economic reality which follows. For the purposes of this project the notion of alternative work forms have not reached the threshold of general understanding with the subject group, but within that investigation crucial insights regarding class perceptions and social mobility have been unveiled. The dynamics by which these observations and assessments have been understood are complex and disputed, but through a unique research project and robust analysis a clear theoretical framework has been identified which can explain the variables present in this research and help contribute to further contemporary study on the subject of youth transitions.