A question of agency: applying Sen's theory of human capability to the concept of secondary school student career ‘choice’

A social justice alternative for framing post-compulsory education: a human development perspective of VET in times of economic dominance

“…(Sen 1999, 19) By highlighting the concept of agency in an educational analysis it allows us to place the student at the centre, as well as to be aware of the role of education in preserving and encouraging social heterogeneity. Agency in the CA is more than the idea of happiness or well-being because it refers to the realisation of the goals and values a person has reason to pursue, whether or not they are directly connected with her own well-being (Boni and Walker 2013;Burchardt 2009;Galliott and Graham 2014). A person's well-being, by contrast, as Crocker (2009) argues, concerns wellness and personal advantage; it takes a utilitarian and individualistic approach to personal welfare.…”

“…Finally, the concepts developed above challenge educational policy assumptions based on the liberal discourse of choice, and on outcomes as a matter of individual will. Galliott and Graham (2014), in their study of student career choice capabilities, conclude that the CA makes a clear distinction between capability and functionings and puts the discourse of choice into perspective. Someone's actual beings and doings do not alone provide enough information.…”

Focusing on what counts: using exploratory focus groups to enhance the development of an electronic survey in a mixed-methods research design

“…Given that policymakers have recently introduced a number of initiatives, including the above described university outreach programs, as well as Internet-based career selfassessment, exploration and guidance options (Galliott and Graham 2014), it was important to incorporate a variety of these educational experiences in the final survey questionnaire.…”

“…This paper draws on a doctoral research project investigating high school students' career choice capability drawing on Amartya Sen's theory of human capability (for details of the conceptual framework see Galliott and Graham 2014). Although Sen's (1992) theory of human capability has been exploited by academics in various fields of human sciences since the 1990s, it has not been applied to students' career decision making.…”

focus on educational choice has social justice consequences - an empirical study informed by Sen’s capability approach

“…April 2016, Issue 36 Galliott and Graham, 2014;Lanzi, 2004;Robertson, 2015;Saito, 2003;Sen, 2009;Unterhalter, Ladwig & Jeffrey, 2014;Unterhalter, Vaughan & Walker, 2007).…”