Three Types of Tightrope Dance in the Comeback Process

Abstract

Fewer than half of the young people attending vocational institutions in Norway complete their education within the allotted five years. Indeed, many of these students have non-linear paths to completion. However, it is not changes in the dropout rate that make this different from earlier generations but the expansion of formal education and the rise of the knowledge society and individualisation. The term “tightrope biographies” is used here to encapsulate why individualisation cannot be thought of in terms of choice, because today’s youth are often held accountable for their educational progression rather than this progression being viewed as dependent on institutional mechanisms. The present study characterises young people as “tightrope dancers” in their interactions with vocational schools. Selected data collected from ethnographic interviews during the ongoing longitudinal project Youth, Completion and Dropout in Telemark are used here to capture the voices of young people. These data focus on the non-linear educational careers of these youth when they re-enter schools and explore the stories they tell about dropping out and re-entering. These stories suggest that, to succeed, students need customised support throughout the process from school to the workplace and that many depend on this support. The study identifies three different ways of understanding these students as tightrope dancers trying to get back on track, characterising them as The Steady, The Shaky and The Shivering.

Low education, high job quality? Job autonomy and learning among workers without higher education in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and Ireland

“…About half the students who start in upper-secondary education enter a vocational programme. However, dropout rates among vocational students are high, and a large number of students switch from vocational programmes to the third supplementary year in order to gain access to higher education (Bunting, Halvorsen, & Moshuus, 2017;Markussen, Frøseth, Sandberg, Lødding, & Borgen, 2011). Most higher education institutions in Norway are state financed and free of charge for the students.…”

Stedsløse slaur - Ungdom, skole og lokal forankring

“…Den «snille makta» brukes til å forme den enkelte elevs utvikling. Betydningen av det relasjonelle var også poenget i en longitudinell studie av livshistoriene til ungdom som returnerte til ny utdanning etter å ha opplevd skoleavbrudd: de som så ut til å lykkes best hadde også best relasjoner til de rundt seg (Bunting, Halvorsen & Moshuus, 2017).…”

Industry Challenges for an Under-Skilled Workforce

“…Industry vs Academia EU (Bunting et al, 2017) The global competition for jobs and the apparent value of investing in knowledge building has largely failed to materialize.…”

“…Concerns related to the historically territorially bounded national education systems and the Europeanized VET programs are understanding the gaps in vocational skill development supportive of global markets. (Bunting et al, 2017) While the knowledge society has increased worldwide participation in education, in the global competition for jobs, the apparent value of investing in knowledge building has largely failed to materialize. Instead, young people are faced with a high-skill, low-wage labor market.…”