Taking Control of their Lives? Agency in Young Adult Transitions in England and the New Germany

Revisiting transitional metaphors: reproducing social inequalities under the conditions of late modernity

“…The other misinterpretation of my position is one that suggests that, by emphasising the continued importance of structured outcomes, I have a tendency to neglect the role of agency in youth transitions (Evans 2002(Evans 2007. On the contrary, my position is that while outcomes are largely determined by a set of structural resources and contexts, personal agency is central to the mobilisation of capacities and, hence, the reproduction of inequalities (Furlong et al 2003).…”

Learning providers’ work with NEET young people

“…Positioning young people as developing and dutiful citizens (Brooks 2013) is a continuation of the workfarist approach to youth unemployment adopted by successive UK governments. The explicit supply-side orientation puts further pressure on NEET young people to develop their agency and 'take control of their lives' (Evans, 2002). What is neglected in such schemes is the inter-relationships between agency and structure as espoused by Coffey and Farrugia (2014) and which have lead to young adults' lives being described as precarious (MacDonald 2011) and NEET young people as part of the precariat (Furlong et al 2012).…”

“…In working with NEET young people's agency, the different definitions of agency as outlined above (individual agency, bounded agency, and agency as a generative process) are important. Personal agency is necessary for decisionmaking processes relating to future careers and life style choices and is visible in characteristics such as self-confidence, self-trust and feelings of capability (Evans 2002). Learning providers suggested 'starting with a clean sheet' and consciously setting aside issues and problems that youths may have experienced.…”

“…Furlong and Cartmel (1997) for example argue that crises are not seen as structural and therefore outside of the control of individuals but instead considered as individual failings, thus reinforcing the supply-side approach promoted by successive UK governments. Evans (2002Evans ( , 2007 establishes this social determinism vs. individualisation nexus as the first of three dimensions of her structure-agency schema, with the second relating to the locus of control and the third dealing with social mobility. Taking the middle ground between the influences of structures including class, gender and/or ethnicity on the one hand and personal agency on the other, Evans (2002, 262-3) develops the concept of 'bounded agency', which "recognizes socially situated agency" and involves "the dynamics of multiple, interlocking sociobiographical journeys in a social terrain".…”

“…Learning providers suggested 'starting with a clean sheet' and consciously setting aside issues and problems that youths may have experienced. This gives young people an opportunity to overcome any issues with their agentic abilities or attitudes, which may, in the past, have resulted in 'frustrated agency' (Evans 2002).…”