Social inequalities, gender and lifelong learning

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between social and gender inequalities and how they have been studied over the last 30 years. What have we learned, as academic sociologists in higher education, about how the socio-cultural context, policies and global social transformations in the UK, and North America influence social stratification? The key focus is on how gender differences influence forms of social stratification through complex relations between ''work'', family and education. Design/methodology/approach -The paper reflects on changing research methodologies from their origins in sociology and second wave feminism by addressing three international studies about the troubled question of mothers' work. All three studies reflexively address the question of changing knowledge and methodologies about social inequality or stratification. Findings -The paper finds that while all three studies are from a feminist perspective and consider methodologies in the light of the so-called ''neo-liberal project'' and the knowledge economy, they come to rather divergent conclusions. The three studies illustrate the complexities of knowledge and methodologies about social stratification and gender inequalities. Originality/value -The paper demonstrates how alternative methods contribute to our knowledge and the rich diversity of sociological work as an academic practice.

Institutional Ethnography as a Method of Inquiry: A Scoping Review

“…From this location, our analysis of interviews with people living with HIV, community-based HIV health information and the current biomedical research literature suggests that in the context of HIV much more is at work in people's relationships to treatments and medical advice than the power of medicine over patients. [p. 317] Likewise, authors juxtaposed approaches for comparative purposes, often outlining the varied contributions to a given field (David 2008); or they troubled (a) taken-for-granted notions such as "Foucault's Panopticon metaphor" (Walby 2005), or (b) researcher identities (Bain 2010) in ways that unearthed complexities and contradictions.…”

Internet Diffusion and Social Inequalities in Greater China Region via Six Key Socioeconomic Indicators

“…Social inequalities as an inevitable phenomenon around the world have drawn attentions from many social thinkers, government officials, politicians, economists and researchers for a long time (Blackburn, 1999(Blackburn, , 2008David, 2008;Duran, 1978;Park, 1984;Preston, 1999;Wong and Yu, 2002). As defined by Preston (1999), social inequalities are "the exclusion of people from full and equal participation in what we, the members of society, perceive as being valuable, important personally worthwhile and socially desirable".…”