The aim of the thesis was to explore the magnitude of inequity in accessibility to initial formal education, continuing adult education, and work-related informal learning for the workplace. The two main issues that the thesis attempted to determine is whether social background characteristics that affect initial educational attainment continue to influence participation in adult education and work-related informal learning. More specifically, this research focused on three main questions: First, to what extent does parents’ social background influence educational attainment levels for Canadians from different generations? Second, to what extent does parents’ social background influencing participation in adult education for their offspring beyond the effects of an individual’s own social background? And, third, to what extent does parents' social background have on their offspring’s participation in informal learning for the workplace beyond the effects of an individual's own social class background? A secondary data quantitative analysis was carried out on the data collected in the 2004 Work and Lifelong Learning (WALL) survey. Both crosstab analysis and structural equation analysis were used to obtain an overview of inequities in participation in formal education and informal learning and to test the applicability of Bourdieu’s social reproduction theory. Overall, the findings of this thesis indicate that social reproduction occurs not only through the formal education system, but also through the adult education system. More specifically, parents’ education continues to be a good predictor of the level of education attained by offspring. Moreover, one’s level of education continued to be a predictor of participation in adult education. Social reproduction was not present for work-related informal learning. In fact, those from low incomes were more likely to engage in informal learning than those from high incomes. These findings indicate that despite level of cultural and economic capital, the majority of Canadians engage in a learning activity. It is apparent that structures that are present in our formal education system continue to advantage students with high cultural and economic capital; however, work-related informal learning is accessible to all.

This thesis is concerned with a group of Chinese skilled migrant mothers’ experiences in relation to their children’s early childhood care and education in New Zealand. Utilising Bourdieu’s concept of capital, habitus and field, the current research addresses the complexity and ambiguity of the Chinese migrant mothers' lives whose social position transcends multiple fields. Because their children attend mainstream education, and the local educational system is different from those where the migrant mothers were brought up, the migrant mothers had to transcend different cultural fields. Chinese skilled migrants, who were middle class professionals in their native country, usually experienced social and financial downturns in New Zealand. Although skilled, the migrant mothers encountered difficulties in finding paid employment that matched their pre-migration job status. These mothers were more likely to give up paid work or reduce paid working hours on the birth of their children than were their male partners. The current study focuses on these transcendent experiences, encompassing both embeddedness and ambiguity across different fields by examining the interplay of class, gender, and ethnicity in the daily lives of these mothers. Traditional interpretations of cultural capital usually refer only to dominant social and cultural capital, whereas the current thesis expands the concept to include both dominant and non-dominant forms of social and cultural capital. The findings showed that the migrant mothers redefined and reconstructed the concept of capital. The migrant mothers’ attitude towards mainstream education was ambiguous and complex: covering the full spectrum from willing embracing, reluctantly following, selectively utilising to firmly rejecting. Simultaneously, the mothers promoted, criticised, and rejected various traditional Chinese practices and beliefs in order to maximise benefits for their children.

Thesis (D.P.H.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 23, 2008). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 23, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 159-172).

As políticas públicas de desenvolvimento e distribuição de renda levadas a efeito durante a primeira década do nosso século alteraram os patamares de renda da parcela mais pobre da população brasileira, fenômeno que estaria dando origem àquilo que se passou a chamar de nova classe média brasileira. A redução das desigualdades sociais estaria atrelada, assim, a um processo de mobilidade social. Esse estudo se ocupa desse fenômeno. Para isso, apresenta, inicialmente, uma análise das políticas sociais implementadas, a partir de 2003, nos âmbitos econômico e educacional. A seguir, discute os conceitos de classe social e de mobilidade social, optando por considerar o fenômeno à luz do conceito de capital cultural, de Pierre Bourdieu, com o qual se define o traço distintivo da educação superior como marca da classe média. Assim, propôs-se a investigar a emergência desse traço em universitários oriundos de classes populares, que estariam em processo de mobilidade social. O trabalho de campo, que ouviu 35 estudantes de 16 diferentes cursos da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, em metodologia de caráter qualitativo, permitiu verificar que os alunos entrevistados mantém seu perfil original de classe trabalhadora, embora sejam inequívocos os ganhos da realização do curso superior, em termos de realização própria e de perspectivas de futuro, tanto para o estudante quanto para o seu grupo social, o que aponta para uma alteração do perfil da classe trabalhadora, e não para a emergência de uma nova classe média. / Public policies aimed at promoting development and income distribution carried out during the first decade of the current century changed the income levels of the poorest segment of the population, a phenomenon that could explain the rise of what became known as the new Brazilian middle class. Therefore, the reduction of social inequalities could be linked to a process of social mobility. This study addresses this issue. It starts with an analysis of social policies implemented since 2003 in the economic and educational spheres. Next, social concepts of class and social mobility are discussed in light of Pierre Bourdieus cultural capital concept, which allows defining higher education as the peculiarity of the middle class. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the emergence of this trait among college students from lower classes who were undergoing a process of social mobility. A qualitative survey conducted with 35 students from 16 different courses at the Rio de Janeiro State University showed that students maintained their original working class profile, although the benefits of a higher education were unequivocal in terms of self-fulfillment and future prospects for both the students and their social class. Thus, results of this study suggest changes in the working class profile, and not to the emergence of a new middle class.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O presente estudo traz como lócus central de interesse apreender as percepções que alunos formandos do ensino médio de uma escola estadual do município do Rio de Janeiro, possuem sobre suas chances de terem ascensão educacional, via ingresso no ensino superior, focalizando, em especial, como percebem as contribuições da escola e da classe social a que pertencem nesse processo. O estudo foi realizado apenas durante o turno da manhã, utilizando-se de aporte teórico-metodológico ancorado nas pesquisas sobre os efeitos das escolas, campo de estudo que se iniciou fora do Brasil, e que recentemente tem experimentado mais entrada no campo educacional brasileiro. Esta pesquisa congregou o uso das metodologias quantitativa e qualitativa, com aplicação de questionários estruturados a todos os alunos formandos, bem como buscou conhecer mais das expectativas destes estudantes, através de entrevistas semi-estruturadas realizadas com dois alunos de cada turma. Estudos apontam que, ainda que os fatores extra-escolares, especialmente aqueles relacionados às condições socioeconômicas dos indivíduos, exerçam forte influência sobre o desempenho escolar dos alunos, sobre suas trajetórias escolares, e, posteriormente, sobre suas trajetórias profissionais, outros trabalhos vêm sugerindo que há mais elementos que precisam ser introduzidos na análise, elementos estes que dizem respeito a aspectos relacionados à própria escola, que se convencionou chamar no Brasil como efeitos das escolas, ou simplesmente, efeito-escola. Acredita-se, segundo esta perspectiva de análise, que as escolas podem vir a afetar as trajetórias dos alunos, assim como suas expectativas de vida e suas motivações, embaralhando a influência dos fatores socioeconômicos, que, ainda que presentes, não seriam os únicos condicionantes. Estas pesquisas revelam que, depois de controladas as variáveis concernentes às condições socioeconômicas dos indivíduos, os dados sugeririam que as escolas exerceriam influência sobre o desempenho dos alunos, em maior ou menor grau, com maior ou menor êxito, mostrando que as escolas podem fazer diferença, e que não são apenas os fatores extra-escolares os únicos determinantes para o sucesso e insucesso escolar dos indivíduos. / The present study has as central locus of interest to understand the perceptions of the students graduates from high school in a state school in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, have had about their chances of educational ascension via access to higher education, focusing, in particular, as the students realize the contributions of school and social class they belong in this process. The study was conducted only during the morning shift, using the theoretical and methodological anchored in research on school matters, field of study that began outside of Brazil, which has recently experienced more entry in the Brazilian educational field. This research gathered using quantitative and qualitative methodologies, applying questionnaires to all senior students and sought to know more of their expectations through semi-structured interviews with two students from each class. Studies show that, although outside school factors, especially those related to socioeconomic conditions of individuals, have a strong influence on the academic performance of students on their path through school, and later on their professional careers, other studies have suggested that there are other elements that need to be introduced into the analysis, which are relate to schools, which has been called in Brazil as efeitos das escolas, or simply efeito-escola. According this analysis perspective, schools are likely to affect students trajectories, as well as their expectations of life and their motivations, mistaking the influence of socioeconomic factors, which, though present, were not the only constraints. These researches show that after controlling for variables pertaining to the socioeconomic conditions of individuals, the data suggest that schools exert influence on student performance to a greater or lesser extent, with varying degrees of success, showing that schools can make a difference, and that the outside school factors are not the only determinants for the school success and failure of the individuals.

abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine compulsory schooling in the United States and its potential to provide an inconsistent avenue to employment for students from neighborhoods of differing socioeconomic status. Specifically, this study asked why do students from privileged neighborhoods typically end up in positions of ownership and management while those from impoverished urban or rural neighborhoods end up in working-class positions or involved in cycles of incarceration and poverty? This research involved the use of qualitative methods, including participant observation and interview, as well as photography, to take a look at a reputable private day school in the southwest. Data was collected over the span of eight weeks and was then analyzed and compared with preexisting data on the schooling experience of students from impoverished urban and rural neighborhoods, particularly data focused on juvenile detention centers. Results showed that compulsory schooling differs in ways that contribute to the preexisting hierarchical class structure. The research suggests that schooling can be detrimental to the future quality of life for students in impoverished neighborhoods, which questions a compulsory school system that exists within the current hierarchical class system. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education 2011

O ensino superior brasileiro se configura, historicamente, como um espaço de formação elitista e excludente, destinado às classes dominantes. No entanto, esse cenário tem se alterado ao longo dos últimos 20 anos, a partir do processo de expansão e diversificação do acesso ao ensino superior, o qual possibilitou o ingresso de grupos antes pouco expressivos, por meio de políticas públicas como o Programa Universidade para Todos – Prouni. Frente a esse contexto de expansão no acesso ao ensino superior do país, essa pesquisa visa compreender como a origem social influencia o acesso, permanência e conclusão do ensino superior, assim como a posterior inserção profissional dos jovens egressos do Prouni, no momento em que essa se configura como uma política pública baseada em critérios de seleção socioeconômicos. A fim de compreender o peso da origem social no processo de formação e ingresso no mercado de trabalho, adotou-se o olhar da sociologia disposicionalista, suportado teórica e metodologicamente em autores como Bernard Lahire, Pierre Bourdieu e Jessé Souza. Para isso, foram realizadas entrevistas em profundidade com cinco egressos do Prouni – oriundos dos cursos de Direito e Administração de duas das melhores instituições de ensino privado do Rio Grande do Sul – as quais foram organizadas e apresentadas no formato de retratos sociológicos (LAHIRE, 2004). A partir da construção dos retratos, foram identificadas as disposições incorporadas ao longo da trajetória de cada um dos jovens, sendo analisadas a partir de suas ocorrências intra e interindividuais. Por meio das disposições compartilhadas, ou interindividuais, foi possível caracterizar os jovens egressos do Prouni como pertencentes a nova classe trabalhadora (SOUZA, 2010). Além disso, as diferenças nas disposições à nível individual permitiram identificar diferentes estratos dentro da nova classe trabalhadora, o que contradiz a ideia de um modo de conduta homogêneo entre aqueles pertencentes a uma mesma classe social. Percebeu-se que a identificação do sistema disposicional incorporado pelos indivíduos e a análise de sua influência ao longo da trajetória individual e coletiva dos egressos do Prouni contribuiu para desvelar o peso e influência da estrutura social sob a ação individual. Tal abordagem contribuiu para ressaltar as desigualdades existentes ao longo do processo de formação e inserção profissional, auxiliando no combate ao discurso meritocrático de responsabilização individual. Por fim, percebe-se no instrumento analítico de identificação das disposições um promissor caminho para aprofundar os estudos acerca da formação e inserção profissional no país e compreender as particularidades dos diferentes grupos de jovens que acessam o ensino superior, levando em conta suas trajetórias, que podem ser mais ou menos limitadas, a partir da origem de classe. / Brazilian higher education is historically an elitist field, destined to the highest social classes. However, this context has changed over the last 20 years, due to the process of expansion and diversification of higher education access. This allowed the entrance of minority groups at university, through public policies such as the University for All Program – in Portuguese called Prouni, which is based in social economic criteria. Based in this context of expansion in the access to higher education in Brazil, this research aims to understand the social origin influence on transition school-to-work process of young graduates from Prouni. In order to understand the social origin influence in higher education studies and transition school-to-work, a sociological dispositional view was adopted in this research, supported by authors such as Bernard Lahire, Pierre Bourdieu and Jessé Souza. In-depth interview were conducted with five graduated students from Prouni, enrolled in Administration and Law courses in two of the best universities of Rio Grande do Sul state. These interviews data were reconstructed and organized into sociological portraits (LAHIRE, 2004). From this material, some incorporated dispositions were identified, being classified based on their individual or collective occurrence. Based on these shared dispositions, was possible to identify this group of young Prouni students as part of the new working Brazilian class (SOUZA, 2010). Besides that, differences in the individual dispositions allowed the identification of distinctive social strata inside this social class, which contradicts the idea of a homogenous mode of conduct shared between members of a same social group. From the incorporated dispositional system analysis, was possible to identify some motivational factors which influence the decisions made by the individuals. Based on that, is possible to combat the meritocratic discourse of individual accountability, which make invisible the weight and influence of the social structure in agent’s life. Finally, the analytical instrument of dispositions identification seems to offer a promising alternative to deepen the transition school-to-work studies in Brazil. The individual analyses can help to understand the particularities in different young people groups that access the higher education, taking into account their trajectories and the divergent aspects they present, related to their social class origin.

Submitted by Noeme Timbo (noeme.timbo@metodista.br) on 2017-01-20T17:52:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 GlaucoF.S.Santos.pdf: 784451 bytes, checksum: 483c8979f3935d45f4be6c7a1e9b5d28 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-20T17:52:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 GlaucoF.S.Santos.pdf: 784451 bytes, checksum: 483c8979f3935d45f4be6c7a1e9b5d28 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-24 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This research craved investigate the ideological mechanisms present in the attitudes of family members of students and alumni who have experienced school failure, seeking to capture the strategies of school apparatus to spread the dominant ideology, especially in students from the popular classes. Taking into account the problems of the educational weight family's cultural capital and socially selective nature of the school system, the work was based on the theoretical Louis Althusser; Boudieu Pierre & Jean-Claude Passeron; and Christian Baudelot & Roger Establet, scholars of the sociology of education and critical of the education system, to understand the mechanisms and identify the exclusion agents present in schools. In this perspective, it is possible to characterize the school's social function in class society: this acts as an ideological apparatus, responsible for inculcating the dominant ideology and select and rank the students who enter the school. Seeking to prove the existence of a selective and classificatory process at school, research has established a dialogue with the families of students who have not fully complied with the school trajectory (elementary and high school). / Esta pesquisa almejou investigar os mecanismos ideológicos presentes nas atitudes dos familiares de alunos e ex-alunos que vivenciaram o fracasso escolar, buscando captar as estratégias do aparelho escolar para disseminar a ideologia dominante, principalmente nos alunos oriundos das camadas populares. Levando em conta a problemática do peso educacional do capital cultural da família e o caráter socialmente seletivo do sistema escolar, o trabalho fundamentou-se nos teóricos Louis Althusser; Pierre Bourdieu & Jean Claude Passeron; e Christian Baudelot & Roger Establet, estudiosos da sociologia da educação e críticos do sistema capitalista de ensino, para compreender os mecanismos e identificar os agentes de exclusão cultural presentes nas instituições escolares. Nesta perspectiva, é possível caracterizar a função social da escola na sociedade de classes: esta atua como um aparelho ideológico, responsável por inculcar ideologia dominante e selecionar e classificar os alunos que adentram no espaço escolar. Buscando comprovar a existência de um processo seletivo e classificatório na escola, a pesquisa estabeleceu um diálogo com os familiares de alunos que não cumpriram integralmente a trajetória escolar (ensino fundamental e médio).

xiv, 116 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The family of origin plays a pivotal role in the career development process. The purpose of this study was to better understand the role of both family social status and family process (e.g., parenting behaviors) in the career development of young adults. Social status was measured using both a traditional, objective index (Socioeconomic Index) and a more recently developed subjective measure (Differential Status Identity Scale). Family process was examined using the variables of perceived and enacted family support. A model capturing the relationship among these variables was proposed based upon Social Cognitive Career Theory, with career decision-making self-efficacy and career-related outcome expectations serving as the social-cognitive outcome variables. A path analysis was conducted to explore the fit of the model and the relative contributions of the status and process variables to the career development outcomes. Participants were 279 male and female undergraduate students, aged 18 to 22 years, from 2- or 4-year community colleges, colleges, and universities. The sample was randomly split into a calibration sample and a validation sample. The hypothesized model was modified based on results with the calibration sample, and a multiple group analysis was used to test for model invariance across the two groups for the revised model. The results of this study suggest that both family of origin social status and family support influence career development outcomes. Specifically, results indicated that the influence of family status, enacted family support, and perceived family support on outcomes was primarily indirect; these variables operated through subjective status. Results also indicated a moderate, direct relationship between subjective social status and career decision-making self-efficacy. The findings suggest that prevention and intervention efforts should focus on both increasing family support and increasing access to the other types of resources implicated in shaping subjective status. Additional implications for both research and practice are discussed. / Committee in charge: Ellen McWhirter, Chairperson, Counseling Psychology and Human Services; Krista Chronister, Member, Counseling Psychology and Human Services; Christopher Murray, Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Jocelyn Hollander, Outside Member, Sociology