“It Was Fine, if You Wanted to Leave”: Educational Ambivalence in a Nova Scotian Coastal Community 1963–1998

Abstract

This article reports on a study of schooling in southwest Nova Scotia. Using Bourdieu's concepts of cultural capital and habitus, I analyze rural men's relationships involving identity, work, place, and schooling to explain continuing high male dropout rates and local traditions of ambivalence and resistance to schooling. I conclude that the tension between formal schooling and place is endemic in many rural communities and that qualitative migration analysis can reveal the complexity of relationships between learning and leaving.

Resilience strategies in the face of short- and long-term change: out-migration and fisheries regulation in Alaskan fishing communities

“…In general, though, out-migration rates from Alaska's rural areas are much higher than the national average (Hadland 2004, NPFMC 2007, DCCED 2009, Howe 2009, ADL 2013. Factors driving out-migration from Alaskan fishing communities have been noted to include the following: declining opportunities in fisheries, attributable in large part to the flight of fishing rights away from local communities (Knapp 2011, Lowe 2012, Carothers 2013; limited opportunities for alternative employment in many areas and concomitant seeking out of employment opportunities elsewhere (Huskey et al 2004, Robards and Greenberg 2007, Howe 2009, Huskey 2009, Lowe 2012; increasing uncertainty related to climate change (Mantua and Francis 2004); increased cost of living (Martin 2009); a desire to escape the social problems that plague many Alaskan communities ; shifting values of younger generations of Alaskans (Langdon 2008); increased emphasis on higher education that does not directly prepare youth for life in a fishing community and instead may allow them or require them to find employment elsewhere (Corbett 2004, Lowe 2012); and increased social and occupational mobility in general (Hamilton et al 2004, Bjarnason and Thorlindsson 2006, Martin 2009). …”

“…Beyond commercial fisheries, a majority of rural Alaskan fishing communities also depend heavily on subsistence harvest of both marine and terrestrial animals to counteract a high cost of living , Himes-Cornell et al 2013 and to fulfill traditional and customary uses. In Alaska, as elsewhere (Corbett 2004, Clay 2007, Clay and Olson 2008, economic and social systems are intertwined with fisheries, and the persistence of human settlements has historically been attributable to both highly resilient, i.e., persistent, fisheries SESs and the adaptive capacity of fishing communities to survive within the bounds of the fishery-based economy available to them.…”

“…With increasing social mobility, individuals from rural communities face the choice of whether to stay and participate in the local economy and culture or migrate to another location (Corbett 2004, Donkersloot 2005, Bjarnason and Thorlindsson 2006, Huskey 2009, Lowe 2012. In fishing communities where few in situ resilience options are available, residents may choose seasonal, temporary, or permanent migration as a way of expanding their options (Huskey et al 2004, Bjarnason andThorlindsson 2006).…”

“…However, higher education is a point of controversy in many fishing communities, as exemplified by research that was conducted in Nova Scotian fishing communities. There, many residents were acutely aware of the ramifications of education; the fate of their communities depends on individuals continuing to choose the fishing way of life and commitment to their community over personal diversification and transferability of skills (Corbett 2004(Corbett , 2005.…”

Localized practices and globalized futures: challenges for Alaska coastal community youth

“…Traditionally, children and young adults have always worked alongside adults in northern fishing communities (Paulgaard 2002). Northern, male, coastal youth learn to embody "rural masculinities" expressed via values and competencies gained through "practical knowledge" (Bye 2009) and multiple skills (Corbett 2004) integral to traditional livelihood pursuits such as fishing. Women's labor in fishing communities by contrast has been traditionally regarded as having less value, such as work in processing plants-as opposed to the "real" work of fishing (Jentoft 1993;Skaptadóttir 1996).…”