A sociological study of the educational and career routes of a group of Indian secondary school students in the Durban area : the transition from school to work.
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Date
1988
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Abstract
This longitudinal study on the transition from school to work
of a group of Indian school-leavers from two co-educational
schools in Durban is an attempt to analyse the processes underlying
the construction of educational and career routes. It
deals with the lived experiences of boys and girls from different
social-class backgrounds within the school, the family, and
the work situation. This passage from school to work, which
also includes the experiences of unemployment, is examined
against the background of social interactions in micro settings,
as well as the influences of social, structural and cultural
forces. In particular, the career pathways are studied within
the context of the cultural background of Indians, and their
socio-historical location in the South African society as a
minority and an intermediate status group in a racially-divided
society.
As the students proceeded through the last three years at school
and into the first few months of work various qualitative,
field research methods were used to get some insight into the
changing and complex nature of the transitional process. These
methods included participant observation, focus sed and unfocussed
interviews, and discussions. Such qualitative research methods
were valuable for an understanding' of the meanings and values
on which the students' actions were based.
The structural and interpretive analysis of the family, the school, the labour market, and a patriarchal, capitalist, apartheid society points to the significance of ideological values, hegemony, class relations, racial, gender, and political and economic influences on the construction of educational and career identities. The analysis also indicates the close relationship
which exists on the one hand between the cultural interpretations
and practices of various social actors; and on the other
hand, the structural conditions in which these are located.
The findings provide some account of how social-class relations
are continued and sustained via related and different inequalities
such as race and gender. Race, class and gender exist side
by side in this reproduction process. By focussing on the close
relationship which exists between the actions and decisions
of the students, and the structures of society, this study
attempts to bridge the gap between structural and interpretive
explanations. The students' interpretations of their educational
and career choices are brought into a closer relationship with
the structures of society.
Description
Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1988.
Keywords
Indians--Education--KwaZulu-Natal., Educational sociology., Career education., Vocational education--South Africa., Theses--Education.