Showing papers on "Structure and agency published in 2000"

Language, structure and agency: What can realist social theory offer to sociolinguistics?

Abstract: The sociolinguistic enterprise raises fundamental questions about the nature of the relationships between social phenomena (such as social class or gender) and linguistic variation, while within social theory a persistent concern is the nature of the relationship between structure and agency. Sociolinguistics can draw on social theory for analysis of the relationship between speaker and system, the role of language in the creation, maintenance and change of social institutions, and the role of human agency in sociolinguistic phenomena. This article summarises the key tenets of a sociological realism, based on the recent work of Margaret Archer (in particular her exploration of analytical dualism) and of Derek Layder (specifically his theory of 'social domains'). It relates these ideas to sociolinguistics, arguing that language can be seen to have a different significance, depending on which domain is the focus of the researcher's interest. The article considers the distinctiveness of this approach, contrasting it with structuralist and social constructionist accounts and with structuration. It concludes by identifying some methodological implications, suggesting that sociological realism offers a productive theoretical framework for sociolinguistics in dealing with questions of language, structure and agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restructuring the Political Arena: Globalization and the Paradoxes of the Competition State

Abstract: The contemporary transformation of the nation-state into a ‘competition state’ is one of the most important consequences and indeed causes of globalization. This relationship between the competition state as a collective agent on the one hand, and wider structural changes in the world economy on the other, raises key questions of structure and agency in the globalization process. The transformation of the advanced industrial state from a ‘national industrial and welfare state’ into a ‘competition state’, like other structural changes, is the result of individual and group actors attempting to adjust to changing structural conditions, and thereby in turn shaping not only the processes but also the outcomes of structural change. In attempting to adapt to a range of complex changes in cultural, institutional and market structures, both political and market actors are increasingly seeking, directly or indirectly, wittingly or unwittingly, to reinvent political structures and institutions in a wider global context.

The Usefulness of Indepth Life HistoryInterviews for Exploring the Role of Social Structure and Human Agencyin Youth Transitions

Abstract: This paper discusses the usefulness of indepth life history interviews in illustrating the role of social structure and human agency in youth transitions. Drawing on sociological theory and youth transition research, the paper highlights how the role of structure and agency has been perceived by youth researchers. Whilst this literature acknowledges the interplay between structure and agency in transitional processes, the appropriateness of particular research methods for explicating structure and agency needs to be further elucidated. Using data from a study of youth transitions in rural areas of Scotland, a range of transitional experiences from two indepth life history interviews is presented here. This exploratory exercise suggests that life history interviews enable researchers to explore how far social structures provide opportunities and constraints for human agents at the same time as showing how individuals, with their own beliefs and desires, take actions despite the social structures that underlie the immediacy of their experiences.

Varieties and Themes in Producer Engagement: Structure and agency in the schools public-market

Abstract: This paper analyses producer agency in the structural setting of the schools public-market. The initial focus for this analysis was the nature of competition, but, it is argued, the character of engagement with the public-market is better represented by inter-connecting and mutually influential modes of engagement (competitive, professional, bureaucratic, cultural) elaborated in the paper. These have been developed through analyses of headteachers' accounts (one of the data sets in a study of the impact of competition on secondary schools), in a process of 'dialogue' with relevant literature, and build upon prior work by the author. The elaboration of the modes is set within the theoretical frame of analytical dualism. Conclusions highlight, inter alia, the tendency for competitive engagement to be present in a subordinated, although nevertheless significant, form, and the continual inter-weaving of different foms of engagement, at the core of which is an increasingly permeable public professional model .

Oppositional codes: The case of the penitentiary of New Mexico riot

Abstract: Understanding of the 1980 riot at the Penitentiary of New Mexico can be improved by emphasizing how language congealed into two distinct codes—one belonging to inmates, the other to prison administrators—that provided their respective users with diametrically opposed views of the world and ways of acting upon it. A code‐based analysis of the riot attempts to overcome some of the shortcomings of both agency‐based and structuralist accounts by stressing the dynamics of agency and structure within code opposition. By so doing, the analysis offers critical diagnostic tools for communication analysts and conflict mediators who may be called upon to intervene in social situations where agents appear to be locked intractably in oppositional conflict.

'You Have to Learn to Love Yourself 'Cos No One Else Will.' Young Women with 'Social, Emotional or Behavioural Difficulties' and the Idea of the Underclass

Abstract: This article discusses some of the findings of a small-scale qualitative study involving young women identified and processed as deviant, that is as having 'social, emotional or behavioural difficulties', in their school years. It also explores some of the ideas currently much discussed in both the press and academic literature about the underclass and lone motherhood, arguing for an understanding that acknowledges the complex interweaving of structure and agency in the lives of disadvantaged young women.

Investigating the pedagogical process in physical education teacher education

Abstract: The study explored student teachers' engagement with a socially critical pedagogy. It found engagement to be contingent upon idiosyncratic dialectics of agency and structure; influenced by structural factors which in turn are constituted by actions of student teachers; linked to knowledgeability; and connected to the reflexivity of self and social knowledge.

Structure and agency in small scale production: an historical archaeology of the clay tobacco pipemakers of Kent.

Abstract: This thesis presents a study of a Kentish industry based on small-scale production Its focus is the workers making clay tobacco pipes Although there are many surveys of clay tobacco pipes, few have commented specifically on the pipes made in Kent My research is unique in that there has been no previous investigation of Kent pipemakers While structuration theory provides the orientation of the thesis, it is helpful to develop this approach in ways that permit the separate consideration of the structures and agencies present in the pipe industry Some structures require detailed consideration, for example the importance of kinship systems and the particular qualities of the market for pipes and of the nature of the pipes themselves The agents, principally the pipemakers, are studied; their evolving doxa is considered, as is their changing comprehension of and response to the problems and opportunities they faced Previous research in Historical Archaeology is reviewed – both of that using structuration and that looking at aspects of the clay tobacco pipe industry The thesis makes a fresh interpretation and new application of structuration theory Documentary material is employed extensively and critically Particular use is made of Directories, Census Records and Probate Inventories Evidence is also prepared from the interpretation of demographic and trade records Biographic case studies are presented in order to maintain a focus on the workers and to take forward an understanding of their lives Contacts between pipemaking families are revealed; some cross considerable geographical distances and others span several generations The pipes themselves and artefacts associated with pipemakers are important in this study A typology for Kent pipes is presented but this thesis moves beyond that to discover what pipes say about the social situations in which they were made An assumption that pipemakers were always poor is questioned by the material presented here Evidence is shown for the involvement of both genders in this industry in Kent The thesis reveals that initially the workers in the pipe industry in Kent demonstrated entrepreneurial zeal and were quite prosperous In many ways they are shown to be harbingers of the Industrial Revolution However, the workers did not continue in this spirit The ways in which pipemakers responded to competition are considered The industry waxed and waned This thesis shows why, in the late nineteenth century, the pipe workers in Kent saw their livelihood fail while some pipe entrepreneurs beyond Kent continued to trade successfully into the twentieth century The lack of local large-scale industrial development and the degree of industrial isolation of Kent are suggested as explanatory factors The thesis, whilst acknowledging the materiality of pipes and pipemaking, counterbalances previous pipe studies that emphasise typology with a more nuanced biographical approach placing people – the pipe makers – central stage

Are We Walking the Talk? Questions of Structure and Agency in the Research on Teaching in Adult Education

Abstract: Despite current prevalence of constructivist epistemologies, the practice of teaching adults continues to reflect representational approaches to meaning. In this roundtable discussion, we explore the use of Giddens’ theory of structuration as a framework for deepening our understanding of the lack of change in teaching. Constructivist epistemologies have had a significant influence on how we think about teaching and learning, as evident from numerous faculty development programs for teachers working with adult learners in postsecondary education settings. Teachers are encouraged to place more emphasis on constructing rather than representing meaning (Mezirow, 1991), to involve their learners actively in this meaning-making process (Bonwell & Sutherland, 1996), to integrate content across disciplines and within learners’ life contexts (Dirkx & Prenger, 1997), and to foster transformative learning among their students (Cranton, 1994, 1997). Despite this prominent turn in research and theory, however, toward constructivist, contextual, and transformative learning, change in the actual practice of teaching adults has been painfully slow (Nesbitt, 1996). Techniques associated with constructivist and transformative approaches to teaching are often appropriated by practitioners within traditional conceptions of teaching (Quigley & Holsinger, 1993). Hence, “active” and “collaborative” learning strategies often become, in effect, little more than instrumentally-oriented techniques to more effectively transmit pre-determined forms of knowledge to unwitting learners. Activities grounded in constructivist theories of meaning reflect, instead, representational approaches to meaning (Mahoney, 1991). Fundamental change in the practice of teaching adults proceeds at a glacial pace, if at all. Problem and Focus This roundtable discussion focuses on developing a better understanding of this apparent lack of change in teaching environments for adult learners. We elaborate this problem from three different contexts: graduate adult education, developmental education, and university faculty development. These settings represent different ways in which this problem expresses itself. In this summary, we briefly elaborate this problem and how we might use structuration theory to help better understand these issues. The structures in which educators work profoundly shape their choices. A teacher may be committed to an emancipatory agenda but she may be working within organizational contexts shaped by fundamentally different values. These contexts are often significantly influenced by economic matters, derived from their federal funding. New initiatives, such as fostering self-directed learning, might appeal to a teacher who is on a path of exploration about teacher-learner relationships, or who is questioning aspects of traditional or dominant models of education. But the underlying values shaping this aim are largely economic. Transformative or emancipatory aims are often at odds with the larger economic context in which these practices are embedded. At an individual level, fundamental change in teaching practice also elicits a number of challenges. The thought of entertaining fundamental change can be frightening and scary. Not many educators are willing to engage the hard and confusing work that is needed to challenge traditional epistemologies and approaches. Many also lack the support, space, and safety needed to change their practices. Learners also present teachers with potential challenges to implementing change. While some may be open to active, reflective approaches, others are much less willing to stray from familiar paths. When teaching is framed from this individual perspective, change is often difficult to fully engage and sustain. Structure and Agency in Changing Teaching Practice Building on the work of Nesbitt (1996, 1998), we use Giddens’ (1991) theory of structuration to help deepen our understanding of this change process among teachers of adults. Giddens suggests that so- cial structures, in which teaching practice is em- bedded, can be both constraining and enabling, sources we use for both producing and reproducing actions within social settings. Similarly, agency re- flects our capacity to act and be acted upon by so- cial forces. We explore each of these “sources” of resistance, in terms of how they represent expres- sion of teachers’ meanings and intentions, and the broader social structures in which these practices are embedded. Using structuration theory, we might ask how student behaviors reflect aspects of the broader social context of which they are a part. Similarly, if we approach the relationship of indi- vidual teacher thought processes and values and the organizational context as recursively interconnected (Nesbit, 1998), we might better understand faculty members’ fear of colleague and student reactions to their use of transformative pedagogy. Reluctance of developmental education teachers to let go of disci- plinary boundaries which define their work might also be approached by attempting to understand more deeply how their beliefs about curriculum re- flect and are bound up with the broad social struc- tures in which they teach this content (Dirkx, Amey, & Haston, 1999). We focus on both insight into and critique of structuration theory, as it re- flects a conceptual framework for fostering greater understanding of the problem of change in the practice of teaching adult learners. References Cranton, P. (1994). Understanding and promoting transformative learning: A guide for educators of adults. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Cranton, P. (1997). Professional development as transformative learning : New perspectives for teachers of adults. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Bonwell, C. C., & Sutherland, T. E. (Eds.). ( 1996). Using active learning in college classes: A range of options for faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Dirkx, J. M., & Prenger, S. A. (1997). A guide to planning and implementing instruction for adults: A theme-based approach. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Dirkx, J. M., Amey, M, & Haston, L. (1999). Teacher beliefs and subject matter boundaries: The struggle for curricular transformation among teachers of adults. In A. Rose (Ed.). 40 Annual Adult Education Research Conference Proceedings, DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois Uni- versity (pp. 97-102). Giddens, A. (1991). Structuration theory: Past, pre- sent, and future. In G. A. Bryant & D. Jary (Eds.), Giddens’ theory of structuration: A criti- cal appreciation (pp. 201-221). London: Rout- ledge. Mahoney, M. J. (1991). Human change processes. New York: Basic Books. Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Nesbitt, T. (1996). What counts? Mathematics edu- cation for adults. Adult Basic Education, 6(2). 69-83. Nesbitt, T. (1998). Teaching in adult education: Opening the black box. Adult Education Quar- terly, 48(3), 157-170. Quigley, B. A., & Holsinger, E. (1993). Happy con- sciousness: Ideology and hidden curricula in lit- eracy education. Adult Education Quarterly , 44(1), 17-33.

Learning careers: conceptualising transformations in young lives and learning

Abstract: This paper draws on data from a four-year longitudinal study of 50 young people aged 16 to 19 in the UK. The study mapped their changing dispositions to and experiences of learning, through a combination of life history and 'real time' life course development, using repeated interviews. This paper focuses on the need to reconceptualise learning in order to make sense of our data, in ways which emphasise the inter-relationships between formal learning, informal learning and wider lived experiences, including home, leisure and work. The concept 'learning career' is being developed to do this through a central longitudinal dimension, linking past learning and past experiences to current experiences and dispositions. Based upon our data, learning careers entail complex tensions, balances and inter-relationships between changing and unchanging perceptions and characteristics, and between structure and agency. In developing the notion of 'learning career', we are seeking to incorporate aspects of three related, but seldom formally connected, bodies of theorising: symbolic interactionism; situated learning; and Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, capital and field. The paper explains the advantages of doing this, whilst highlighting some of the tensions inherent in this problematic integration.