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Young people’s post-compulsory educational choices in a small rural Tasmanian town
Citation
Schmidt, MS, Young people's post-compulsory educational choices in a small rural Tasmanian town (2015) [Professional Doctorate]
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Abstract
Participation in post-compulsory education has increased substantially since the 1970s (ABS
2011), but gender, socio-economic status and locality continue to influence who remains in
education and who leaves (ACARA 2012; Curtis and McMillan 2008). This thesis addresses
the issue of the low Year 12 completion rates in rural Australia through an investigation of
how young people living in a rural area of Tasmania subjectively construct their postcompulsory educational choices. The study is based on participant observation and in-depth
interviews with Grade 10 students, parents and teachers in a small rural town as well as
interviews with Australian policy makers with the objective of examining how young people
aged 15-16 years make plans for their future careers. Bourdieu’s (1990) concepts of social
and cultural capital and the habitus and Connell’s theory of the gender order (2005) are used
to analyse participants’ experiences.
Key findings include that place was a critical factor in the construction of a distinctive rural
habitus characterised by a strong attachment to and relationship with people and place and
particular forms of masculinities and femininities. A combination of traditional working class
culture and an emphasis on physicality as embodied performance was linked to the
dominance of a form of masculinity in the community which was carried across to the
informal school culture in ways that influenced both male and female participants’ decisions
about whether to continue at school.
Decisions to leave school early were linked to the possession of tight-knit local networks,
limited travel, and predominantly local forms of knowledge. Those who decided to continue
their education were more likely to possess globalised forms of social and cultural capital.
For many young men their successful performance of a particular form of place based
hegemonic masculinity was in tension with the cultural capital of the School and was
associated with an intention to leave education as soon as they could. At the same time, many
of these respondents believed that in making this choice, they were setting themselves up for
failure. Other young men and women felt marginalised in the masculinity hierarchy, and their
experiences of oppression and a sense that their academic efforts went unnoticed and
unrewarded resulted in a decision to leave school before completion of Year 12.
There were, however, exceptions. Some academically high achieving individuals with global
forms of social and cultural capital still decided to leave their education because of
experiences of marginalisation. Some of the most stigmatised young people with local forms
of social and cultural networks also intended to continue their education despite their
experiences of marginalisation within the formal and informal culture of the School.
The policy implications arising from this study include greater attention to gender practices
within the School, the provision of a wider range of leisure activities in the local community
and encouraging young people to become familiar with environments beyond their local area.
Item Details
Item Type: | Professional Doctorate |
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Keywords: | Rural education, gender, masculinities, femininities, SES, social and cultural capital, rural habitus |
Research Division: | Education |
Research Group: | Education policy, sociology and philosophy |
Research Field: | Sociology of education |
Objective Division: | Education and Training |
Objective Group: | Schools and learning environments |
Objective Field: | Equity and access to education |
UTAS Author: | Schmidt, MS (Dr Merete Schmidt) |
ID Code: | 145665 |
Year Published: | 2015 |
Deposited By: | Sociology and Criminology |
Deposited On: | 2021-07-30 |
Last Modified: | 2021-08-04 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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