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DOI•

Learning to Labour: How Working Class Kids Get Working Class Jobs

江俊儒
01 Dec 2011-Iss: 32, pp 5-8
About: The article was published on 2011-12-01 and is currently open access. It has received 1252 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Working class.
Citations
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Bound by Narrative: An In-Depth Exploration of the Effects of Racialized, Gendered, and Sexualized Scripts on Black Boys' Socialization in and out of School Contexts

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Aliyah Abu-Hazeem
29 May 2019
TL;DR: Abdel-Hazeem et al. as discussed by the authors explored how schools shape narratives of hypermasculinity and how these narratives inform Black boys' performance and understanding of what it means to be a man.
Abstract: by Aliyah Abu-Hazeem Using data collected from surveys, 32 in-depth interviews, and over 40 hours of classroom observations within an all-boys-all-Black high school, The Brotherhood Academy, this project explores two critical questions: 1) how do schools shape narratives of hypermasculinity and 2) how do these narratives inform Black boys’ performance and understanding of what it means to be man? Bridging the extant literatures on masculinities and race, gender, and sexuality, this paper offers a novel theorization of narratives of hypermasculinity that provides a framework for examining the implications of Black boys’ internalization of racialized, gendered, and sexualized scripts on performing manhood, which are often rooted in heteronormative, hypersexual, and deviant conceptualizations of masculinity. I find that even within a generally noncontested site for socialization, such as the Brotherhood Academy, which provides opportunities for resistance by bolstering a novel mission and value set rooted in destigmatizing what it means to be a Black man in society, these narratives of hypermasculinity still exist and negatively impact school actors’ ability to hold these

19 citations

Cites background from "Learning to Labour: How Working Cla..."

  • ...While there was a significant amount of young, Black men that felt empowered by the AMPS, the organizational structure of the school aided in their emasculation (Willis 1977; McFarland 2001), which highlights a convergence of neoliberal ideology and Black respectability (Phoenix 2004)....

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  • ...…and value set (Wynn 1992; Reichert & Nelson, 2012; Reichert, Nelson, Heed, Yang, & Benson 2012; Dumas & Nelson 2016), however, if the school has a lax accountability structure in place to facilitate the successful achievement of the mission, it will be fruitless in its efforts (Willis 1977)....

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  • ...Usually, this involves Black boys attempting to strike a balance 16 between managing the impressions of peers and teachers (Goffman 1959) while simultaneously trying to locate a definition and performance of masculinity that feels the most comfortable or representative of who they are (Willis 1977)....

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  • ...The first, Learning to Labor, which was based on ethnographic research, investigated how the “lads” (i.e. working-class boys) located opportunities for resistance in school by rebelling against the rules and values administered and creating an oppositional culture (Willis 1977)....

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Journal Article•DOI•
Builders, bodies and bifurcations: How London construction workers ‘learn to labour’

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Darren Thiel1•
University of Essex1
01 Dec 2013-Ethnography
TL;DR: This paper examined how the ideas about working-class culture presented in Paul Willis's classic monograph (1977) Learning to Labour apply or do not apply to the data generated by an ethnographic survey.
Abstract: This article examines how the ideas about working-class culture presented in Paul Willis’s classic monograph (1977) Learning to Labour apply or do not apply to the data generated by an ethnographic...

19 citations

Cites background from "Learning to Labour: How Working Cla..."

  • ...In this context, it should be noted that some of the ‘lads’ went to work in the building industries (Willis, 1977: 106)....

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  • ...Spanksy and Perce, for example, became builders, not factory workers, and Perce had been introduced to carpentry work through his family networks (Willis, 1977: 101)....

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  • ...Informal trading could thus be seen as a kind of ‘informal insurance’ collectively employed to help the men cope with the vagaries of their employment situation (cf. Hobbs, 1988; Willis, 1977)....

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  • ...In this context, it should be noted that some of the ‘lads’ went to work in the building industries (Willis, 1977: 106). Not all of them entered the highly controlled and de-skilled work of the industrial factory and, consequently, their assumptions about the homogeneity of manual work were not ‘penetrative’ understandings of a deeper reality of class-bound occupations but were, rather, slightly misguided. Learning to Labour further suggests that because the ‘lads’ saw no differences between manual occupations, when they left school they ‘drifted’ into any manual work that they could get and they thus found employment by ‘chance’. Yet in the light of social network theory, particularly through the work of Mark Granovetter (1974), we now have a better understanding of how job chances are socially structured by social networks....

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Dissertation•
An anthropological study of ethnicity and the reproduction of culture among Hong Kong Chinese families in Scotland

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Eona Bell
01 Oct 2011
TL;DR: Hong Kong Chinese people in Scotland learn to "be ethnic" while living in a Western, multi-national, and multicultural society as mentioned in this paper, which is also important for the nurture of inter-generational relationships.
Abstract: This thesis is about inter-generational relationships and the reproduction of culture in the family lives of Hong Kong Chinese people in Scotland It is based on fifteen months of ethnographic fieldwork and informal interviews in family homes, Chinese language schools and community organizations in Edinburgh A central question is that of ethnicity and how people learn to “be ethnic” while living in a Western, multicultural society The first part asks what Scottish-born Chinese children learn about ethnicity through growing up in families who work in the ethnic catering trade Chapter 1 introduces the themes of ambition and achievement, and the mixed emotions associated with this sometimes-stigmatized occupation Chapter 2 focuses on ideas about the duties of parents, drawing on life stories of three generations of Chinese Scots to describe their decisions concerning childcare and schooling The second section concerns the learning of specific cultural practices – language and handicrafts – in the institutional context of Chinese complementary schools Chapters 3 and 4 show that these are important spaces where people feel part of a group with shared moral responsibility for the maintenance and transmission of culture The question of “authenticity” in both cultural practice and interpersonal relationships is discussed Chapters 5 and 6 explore how Hong Kong Chinese Scots are responding to the rise of China as a global economic and cultural power Ethnographic data from Chinese New Year celebrations in Edinburgh, and Mandarin language classes for Cantonese-speaking children suggest that people may engage in “inauthentic” cultural practices for strategic economic or political reasons However, these articulations of ethnic identity are also important for the nurture of inter-generational relationships The thesis concludes with the argument that Chinese Scots take a futureorientated approach to family and community life, drawing selectively on the resources of inter-ethnic ties and language to prepare their children for a changing economic and social environment

19 citations

Cites background from "Learning to Labour: How Working Cla..."

  • ...The classic sociological works on education and social mobility (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1990; Willis, 1977) suggest that education is a means of reproducing class...

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  • ...The classic sociological works on education and social mobility (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1990; Willis, 1977) suggest that education is a means of reproducing class values, and that urban, middle-class parents are more likely to encourage their children to succeed at school, thus demonstrating their…...

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Journal Article•
Fresh grounds : African migrants in a South African primary school

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Crispin Hemson1•
Durban University of Technology1
01 Jan 2011-Southern African Review of Education with Education with Production
TL;DR: The authors found that the migrants do not internalise the negative stereotypes against African foreigners, instead they display a cosmopolitan identity around the opportunities and resources available and set high aspirations for their success.
Abstract: In a primary school in Durban, South Africa, young migrants from war-torn countries in central Africa display a strong sense of agency and hope. This is despite the extreme nature of social dislocation they have faced, including in some cases trauma related to why and how they left, xenophobia directed towards African foreigners, poverty, language barriers and lack of communication between parents and the school. This case study foregrounds the experience of xenophobia in addressing the questions of how the migrants speak of their experience and how they respond within the school. It draws on ethnographic accounts of young migrants in Grades 6 and 7 and reports from school managers and teachers. It finds that the migrants do not internalise the negative stereotypes against African foreigners. Instead they display a cosmopolitan identity around the opportunities and resources available and set high aspirations for their success. It is argued that their response can be understood as a form of resistance; instead of assimilation they pursue and celebrate qualities that contradict the negativity of the xenophobia. By doing this, they form a valuable resource for South African education. This work has implications for our understanding of the forms resistance can take.

19 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
Gendered Post-Compulsory Educational Choices of Non-Heterosexual Youth:

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Jukka Lehtonen1•
University of Helsinki1
01 Jan 2010-European Educational Research Journal
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse how gender, class and sexual orientation were constructed as meaningful factors in the educational choices of non-heterosexual young people, and they argue that, in addition to class and gender, sexuality is another relevant factor affecting processes related to educational and career choices.
Abstract: Gender and socio-economic background are widely acknowledged factors influencing the educational choices of young people. Following their compulsory education, young people in Finland choose between academically oriented general upper secondary schools and vocational upper secondary schools. Gender and class intertwine in these choices in many ways. This is particularly visible in vocational education, which is highly gender-segregated. This article focuses on the post- compulsory educational choices of non-heterosexual young people. It argues that, in addition to class and gender, sexuality is another relevant factor affecting processes related to educational and career choices. Based on interviews and stories produced with young non-heterosexual people, it analyse how gender, class and sexual orientation were constructed as meaningful in the educational choices these young people made. Young non-heterosexual people take part in processes where they are expected to construct educational and labour-market citizenship. They are often expected to be and act heterosexual; their non-heterosexuality is neither visible nor considered relevant when they consider their educational paths. However, many of these youth resist the gendered expectations forced on them and choose differently.

19 citations

Cites background from "Learning to Labour: How Working Cla..."

  • ...…to educational choices was typical for some of the nonheterosexual young women and men, especially for those coming from a working-class background: instead of academic success and building a career, it was important to rapidly land a job and thus secure an income (cf. Willis, 1978; Käyhkö, 2006)....

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  • ...Some working-class boys may feel that they are not expected to continue on to general upper secondary school, which is considered to emphasise reading and writing, and thus is effeminate (see Willis, 1978)....

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References
More filters
Book Chapter•DOI•
Communities of Practice and Social Learning Systems: the Career of a Concept

[...]

Etienne Wenger
01 Jan 2010
TL;DR: The concept of community of practice was not born in the systems theory tradition as discussed by the authors, but it has its roots in attempts to develop accounts of the social nature of human learning inspired by anthropology and social theory.
Abstract: The concept of community of practice was not born in the systems theory tradition. It has its roots in attempts to develop accounts of the social nature of human learning inspired by anthropology and social theory (Lave, 1988; Bourdieu, 1977; Giddens, 1984; Foucault, 1980; Vygotsky, 1978). But the concept of community of practice is well aligned with the perspective of systems traditions. A community of practice itself can be viewed as a simple social system. And a complex social system can be viewed as constituted by interrelated communities of practice. In this essay I first explore the systemic nature of the concept at these two levels. Then I use this foundation to look at the applications of the concept, some of its main critiques, and its potential for developing a social discipline of learning.

1,082 citations

Book•
Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys

[...]

Victor M. Rios
27 Jun 2011
TL;DR: In this article, the Flatlands of Oakland and the Youth Control Complex are discussed. But the focus is on the role of black youth in the criminal justice system and community institutions.
Abstract: Preface Acknowledgments Part I Hypercriminalization 1 Dreams Deferred: The Patterns of Punishment in Oakland 2 The Flatlands of Oakland and the Youth Control Complex 3 The Labeling Hype: Coming of Age in the Era of Mass Incarceration 4 The Coupling of Criminal Justice and Community Institutions Part II Consequences 5 "Dummy Smart": Misrecognition, Acting Out, and "Going Dumb" 6 Proving Manhood: Masculinity as a Rehabilitative Tool 7 Guilty by Association: Acting White or Acting Lawful? Conclusion: Toward a Youth Support Complex Appendix: Beyond Jungle-Book Tropes Notes References Index About the Author

909 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
Learning to Be Illegal: Undocumented Youth and Shifting Legal Contexts in the Transition to Adulthood

[...]

Roberto G. Gonzales1•
University of Chicago1
01 Aug 2011-American Sociological Review
TL;DR: The authors examines the transition to adulthood among 1.5-generation undocumented Latino young adults and finds that for them, the transition from K to adulthood involves exiting the legally protected status of K to...
Abstract: This article examines the transition to adulthood among 1.5-generation undocumented Latino young adults. For them, the transition to adulthood involves exiting the legally protected status of K to ...

663 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
New Conceptual Frameworks for Student Engagement Research, Policy, and Practice

[...]

Michael A. Lawson1, Hal A. Lawson2•
Binghamton University1, University at Albany, SUNY2
01 Sep 2013-Review of Educational Research
TL;DR: In this article, student engagement research, policy, and practice must become more nuanced and less formulaic, and the ensuing review is structured accordingly, guided in part by social-ecological analysis and social-cultural theory.
Abstract: Student engagement research, policy, and practice are even more important in today’s race-to-the top policy environment. With a priority goal of postsecondary completion with advanced competence, today’s students must be engaged longer and more deeply. This need is especially salient for students attending schools located in segregated, high-poverty neighborhoods and isolated rural communities. Here, engagement research, policy, and practice must become more nuanced and less formulaic, and the ensuing review is structured accordingly. Guided in part by social-ecological analysis and social-cultural theory, engagement is conceptualized as a dynamic system of social and psychological constructs as well as a synergistic process. This conceptualization invites researchers, policymakers, and school-community leaders to develop improvement models that provide a more expansive, engagement-focused reach into students’ family, peer, and neighborhood ecologies.

528 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
The Significance of Relationships: Academic Engagement and Achievement Among Newcomer Immigrant Youth

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Carola Suárez-Orozco1, Allyson Pimentel1, Margary Martin1•
New York University1
01 Mar 2009-Teachers College Record
TL;DR: The Longitudinal Immigrant Student Adaptation Study (LISA) as discussed by the authors used a mixed-methods approach, combining longitudinal, interdisciplinary, qualitative, and quantitative approaches to document adaptation patterns of 407 recently arrived immigrant youth from Central America, China, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Mexico over the course of five years.
Abstract: Background/Context: Newcomer immigrant students are entering schools in the United States in unprecedented numbers. As they enter new school contexts, they face a number of challenges in their adjustment. Previous literature suggested that relationships in school play a particularly crucial role in promoting socially competent behavior in the classroom and in fostering academic engagement and school performance. Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the role of school-based relationships in engagement and achievement in a population of newcomer immigrant students. Research Design: The Longitudinal Immigrant Student Adaptation Study (LISA) used a mixed-methods approach, combining longitudinal, interdisciplinary, qualitative, and quantitative approaches to document adaptation patterns of 407 recently arrived immigrant youth from Central America, China, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Mexico over the course of five years. Based on data from the last year of the study, we examine how the role of relationships mediates newcomers’ challenges with academic engagement and performance. We identify factors that account for patterns of academic engagement and achievement, including country of origin, gender, maternal education, English language proficiency, and school-based relationships. Findings: Multiple regression analyses suggest that supportive school-based relationships strongly contribute to both the academic engagement and the school performance of the par

356 citations

Related Papers (5)
Learning to Labour: How Working Class Kids Get Working Class Jobs. Paul Willis

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01 Feb 1979-Comparative Education Review
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Learning to Labour: How Working Class Kids Get Working Class Jobs. Paul E. Willis

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01 Aug 1980-American Journal of Education
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Learning to Labour: How Working Class Kids Get Working Class Jobs@@@Young Workers: From School to Work@@@Knuckle Sandwich: Growing up in the Working Class City

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01 Dec 1979-British Journal of Sociology
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[...]

01 Jan 1976
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Willis, Paul: Learning to Labour: How Working Class Kids GetWorking Class Jobs.

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01 Jan 2000
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