De-standardised pathways to adulthood: European perspectives on informal learning in informal networks

Abstract

Becoming adult in the context of de-standardised life course transitions means new demands for the young women and men concerned. While those with higher social and cultural capital cope more easily with shaping individualised transitions, those with restricted resources and opportunities are under pressure of adaptation and at risk of exclusion. While de-standardisation can be regarded as a general trend, it takes varying shape across different European transition regimes whereby different regulative, normative and policy contexts of youth transitions are clustered. The article relates to the European YOYO study which has explored new learning demands and new learning strategies of young people in a comparative perspective. An exemplary illustration refers to the way in which young Germans make use of informal learning networks to cope with these demands. This micro perspective is related to the macro perspective by reflecting the scopes of individual agency provided by different transition regimes. Key words: youth transitions, new learning demands, new learning strategies, learning networks. Resum. Itineraris desestandarditzats a l'edat adulta: la perspectiva europea de l'aprenentatge informal a xarxes informalsEsdevenir adult en el context de les transicions desestandarditzades de la vida comporta noves demandes per part dels joves, els homes i les dones afectats. Mentre que aquells que disposen d'un capital social i cultural més elevat poden modelar més fàcilment les transicions individualitzades, aquells que no disposen de tants recursos ni oportunitats es troben sota la pressió d'adaptar-se i davant el perill de l'exclusió. Si bé la desestandardització es pot veure com una tendència general, adopta diferents formes en els diferents règims de transició europeus a través dels quals s'agrupen diferents contextos regulatius, normatius i polítics de les transicions juvenils. L'article està relacionat amb l'estudi europeu YOYO, que ha explorat noves demandes d'ensenyament i noves estratègies d'ensenyament dels joves des d'un punt de vista comparatiu. Un exemple il·lustratiu fa referència a com els joves alemanys utilitzen xarxes d'aprenentatge informals per poder fer front a aquestes demandes. Aquesta microperspectiva està relacionada amb la macro perspectiva, ja que reflecteix l'abast de l'agència individual que proporcionen els diferents règims de transició. Paraules clau: la transició dels joves, noves demandes per a l'aprenentatge, noves estratègies d'aprenentatge, xarxes d'aprenentatge. With the increasing erosion of female and male standard biographies the topic of life course transitions has gained in relevance. In the framework of institutionalised life courses, transitions from youth to adulthood are foreseen to follow specific trajectories according to educational level and gender. However, if life, as young men and women themselves experience it, does no longer fit to normative institutional assumptions; if transitions occur more frequently, take longer time and are less predictable, they cau...

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