This research is a case study of the Stoneleigh Group; a partnership of voluntary youth work organisations that piloted a spiritual development programme for young people aged 18 to 25. The purpose of the research was to examine the claims made by the Stoneleigh Group to have developed a radical approach and outcomes of personal and social transformation within a programme of informal education out of doors. The research was undertaken in the contexts of reviews of research concerning outdoor education, informal education for young people, and youth transition. An ethnographic study of the retreat programme and its impact on the lives of the young people was combined with a critical study of the advocacy work of the Stoneleigh Group within the development of the National Youth Work Curriculum. The analysis was undertaken with the aid of Bernstein’s theoretical framework for curriculum and pedagogic critique. The study of the programme claims that the pedagogic approach was radical in its ideology and practice. However, it is argued that the impact on the young people depended on the ideology of the youth organisation for which they volunteered. A range of claims for a radical outcome are identified and discussed. The research argues that, despite the claim that the outcomes of social transformation were only partially achieved, the practices of the Stoneleigh Group were contested because of their perceived radicalism. The study of the advocacy work suggests that, despite these challenges, the Stoneleigh Group's contributions to the national discussions concerning the spiritual development of young people within the youth work curriculum resulted in proposals that supported a more radical pedagogic approach than currently practised. The research indicates that the Stoneleigh Group influenced statements made in the consultation. It is argued that the Group provided support for the concept of young people as agents of social change. In particular, it is suggested that the pilot was used to support a view of young people as capable of, and valued for, their challenges to the established norms of society.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:51:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 1307.pdf: 2216303 bytes, checksum: 5f2e521f10e215ad8a43ba918e97cd08 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-02-02 / The work and its organization are suffering continually modifications front to the new requirements from the contemporary society. The insertion of new information and communication technologies in the productive processes directs new studies to better understand the logic behind the transformation process and the work organization. The proposal is to study analytically and qualitatively the transformation of the work generated from the insertion of information and communication technologies in the productive processes, as well as the difficulties experienced by the workers. The focus inside the service sector is realized by the study of the Communitarian Library of the Federal University of Sao Carlos (UFSCar) as organization. By the ethnography descriptive methodology, the analysis is made to identify how the library have changed and continue to modify itself with the introduction of information and communication technologies in its products and services and how the employees have been dealing with the difficulties generated by this process. / O trabalho e sua organização vêm a tempos sofrendo modificações frente às novas exigências da sociedade contemporânea. A inserção de novas tecnologias de informação e comunicação nos processos produtivos direciona novos estudos a serem realizados para entender melhor toda a lógica do processo de transformação e organização do trabalho. A proposta é estudar analítica e qualitativamente a transformação do trabalho gerada a partir da inserção de tecnologias de informação e comunicação nos processos produtivos assim como as dificuldades encontradas pelos trabalhadores com a introdução das mesmas. O recorte dentro do setor de serviços é feito pelo estudo da Biblioteca Comunitária da Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar) como organização. Pela metodologia etnográfica descritiva, a análise é feita para identificar como a biblioteca se modificou e vem mudando com a introdução de tecnologias de informação e comunicação nos seus produtos e serviços, e como o funcionário enfrenta as dificuldades decorrentes dessa introdução.