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This paper offers an interpretation of the role of emotions in understanding the transitions that young people make to university. I draw on qualitative research with a group of non-traditional students, entering elite universities, to argue that youth transitions are emotional as well instrumental affairs. I argue that choice-making processes incorporate both trust in, and fear of, the transitions infrastructure, and that these emotions infuse more instrumental judgements about the economic benefits of higher education. I also demonstrate that emotional aspects of class--including feelings of entitlement to education and the rejection of normative student identities--constitute the experience of "being" or "doing" a student. A broader understanding of how young people become university students then depends not just on developing a new identity but on the complex interaction between emotion and infrastructure. (Contains 1 note.)

The present paper raises questions about the use of the concept of reputation in sociological studies of the relationship between higher education and the labour market. Sociologists of education have yet to subject the concept of reputation to sustained critique and evaluation. This situation is unsatisfactory because a number of critical scholars claim that graduates earn a premium as a consequence of attending an elite institution for no reason other than the institution has such a reputation. However, research generally does not provide unequivocal support for such an effect and neither is the source of this effect clearly theorised or identified. One result of this lack of clarity is confusion over what is driving the formation of reputation. This paper advances field theory as a way of developing a sociology of reputation.

Labor market conditions, a pervasive public discourse about the benefits of higher education, and parental hopes push many young working-class people into university. The institutional culture and demands of university, however, often remain elusive and fraught with uncertainty. In this paper, I draw on qualitative interviews with first-generation, working-class students at a Canadian university to analyze the ways in which these students discuss their reasons to attend and their expectations for university, and the implications of their attitudes for their future success at university. Analysis of the interview data shows how the relatively high and risky investment of working-class youth in education leads to strong utilitarian and vocational orientations toward university. Although a narrow focus on the career potential of university is generally perceived as problematic, I argue that it may also help working-class students in their transition to university. Nonetheless, a critical educational process is necessary that not only helps working-class students achieve their educational and occupational goals, but also understand their unique status in a social institution that they entered as outsiders.

Embarking upon a pre-university gap year is an increasingly popular option among British students. Drawing on Brown et al.'s work on positional conflict theory and the increased importance of the "economy of experience", this paper seeks to explore this growing popularity and argues that the gap year's enhanced profile raises important questions concerning the processes by which certain groups of young people are able to gain advantage over others during a period of educational expansion. Indeed, it is arguably no coincidence that the gap year's popularity has taken off in parallel with this expansion, as the gap year emerges as an important means of "gaining the edge" over other students in the context of increased competition for entry to elite institutions.

Although Boudons distinction between primary and secondary effects, and its associated rational action models of inequality of educational opportunity, have been more influential in the field of social stratification and mobility than in the sociology of education, there is good reason to reconsider the theoretical and practical implications of this approach. The investigation brings conceptual analysis and empirical research to bear on Boudons arguments in a manner that may be somewhat unorthodox. The theoretical arguments are developed in the context of a detailed empirical investigation of three transitions--age 10 to O-level, O-level to A-level, and A-level to degree--using the extensive 1970 British Cohort Study. It is concluded that primary and secondary effects should be recognised as methodological rather than theoretical concepts, that the techniques used to identify them are independent of rational action theory and that, contrary to an influential position, the evidence suggests that primary effects are more important than secondary effects in the generation of social disparities in access to education. (Contains 3 tables.)

This paper takes as its focus the concept of 'field', which has received relatively less attention than Bourdieu's other concepts such as 'cultural capital' and 'habitus' in the sociology of education. The development of the concept is outlined to present Bourdieu's understanding of higher education as a field consisting of cognitive and structural mechanisms that mediate sociopolitical and economic forces while simultaneously reproducing fundamental principles of social stratification. As an illustration of its widespread application, Bourdieu's framework is applied to develop an analytical understanding of institutional strategies developed by South African universities during a period of political instability. Drawing insights from the South African case study and Bourdieu's empirical research, the article concludes that Bourdieu's theory may be seen to have transcended more simplistic conceptions of universities as closed systems detached from the sociopolitical complex or as mere reflections of external power relations. However, the strict relational nature of Bourdieu's framework and his concept of the 'arbitrary' have placed limits on the extent to which his theory can offer a more in-depth account of the relationship between higher education and society.

Provides background information on Basil Bernstein and his theory of symbolic control and cultural production. Presents an interview with Bernstein addressing such topics as the concept of "pedagogy" and its role in his theory, "boundaries" as a conceptual key in his theory, and transformation of his theory. (CMK)

Illustrates recent concerns about the fields of sociology, sociology of education, and women's studies through means of an autobiographical account of a career of a British teacher and researcher in these fields. Discusses the nature of sociology of education as a marginal and border-academic territory. (DSK)

This paper stresses the complexity of further education (FE) In order to take cognisance of this complexity a number of themes are discussed The role of FE in `reproducing' social and technical relations is discussed and it is argued that social relations are crucial in the formation of technical relations However, in order to grasp the nature of FE, technical relations need to be accorded `relative autonomy' An additional thematic of the paper is that the concept of social relations needs to be broadened so that a is no longer conceived of narrowly in terms of productive relations It is argued that structures which are analytically outside of production need to be incorporated into the concept of social relations Reference is made to the structures of race, patriarchy and generation and it is argued that we need to consider the way in which these various structures intersect with one another thereby structuring the form of social relations An important concept that would enable us to do this is that of struggle Indeed it is suggested that struggle should be central, to the analysis A final thematic of the paper is the epistemological suggestion that one's theories to be adequate need to approach in a meaningful way the complexity of that with which they are concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper raises questions about the use of the concept of reputation in sociological studies of the relationship between higher education and the labour market. Sociologists of education have yet to subject the concept of reputation to sustained critique and evaluation. This situation is unsatisfactory because a number of critical scholars claim that graduates earn a premium as a consequence of attending an elite institution for no reason other than the institution has such a reputation. However, research generally does not provide unequivocal support for such an effect and neither is the source of this effect clearly theorised or identified. One result of this lack of clarity is confusion over what is driving the formation of reputation. This paper advances field theory as a way of developing a sociology of reputation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the changing nature of professional practice in English further education. At a time when neo–liberal reform has significantly impacted on this under–researched and over–market–tested sector, little is known about who its practitioners are and how they construct meaning in their work. Sociological interest in the field has tended to focus on further education practitioners as either the subjects of market and managerial reform or as creative agents operating within the contradictions of audit and inspection cultures. In challenging such dualism, which is reflective of wider sociological thinking, the paper examines the ways in which agency and structure combine to produce a more transformative conception of the further education professional. The approach contrasts with a prevailing policy discourse that seeks to re–professionalise and modernise further education practice without interrogating either the terms of its professionalism or the neo–liberal practices in which it resides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the me of the 'competency' movement in education and beyond. It argues that 'competency' should be understood in terms of a change in the social control of expertise in society involving a move from a relatively autonomous form of liberal professional community to more direct State control. This, in turn, is located within a broader analysis of the nature of regulation in late modern societies and draws upon the recent work of Giddens and Bernstein in order to analyse the positioning of expertise between its primary theoretical base in higher education and the social relations of everyday life with which it is concerned. The move by the National Council for Vocational Qualifications into the area of graduate level occupations ('NVQ level 5') is discussed with reference to the role of 'functional analysis' as a methodology for translating expertise into 'competencies' and controlling professional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section presents several articles offering sociologists' views on cuts in British higher education as of 1984. John Brennan contributes a nation-wide view of the cuts in the public sector, outlines institutional policies and prejudices and suggests strategies for survival. His paper also shows that the distinctive ecology of public sector higher education poses both threats and opportunities for sociology. Meanwhile, Alan Waton provides a macro-view of the UGC action. Rosemary Deem writers of her experience as a County Councilor involved in working for the retention of courses in a public sector college and provides the only contribution with a happy ending. Also Ivan Reid discussed the problems and potentials of strategies for survival. According to Brennan, there never was a golden age for the polytechnics. He further said that they have experienced cuts and financial stringency over a long period of time. He also said that the effects have been gradual and have become almost taken for granted. Ivan Reid stated that it is difficult to establish whether sociology and sociology of education face threats over and above that posed to higher education in general. The intimate relationship of sociology of education with teacher education has meant that it has shared the fate of closures and cut-backs with the other disciplines of education and faced many of these well before the present situation.

This study examines the impact of a country's security unrest on student retention. It draws on the key factors that influence retention worldwide, adopts Bourdieu's notion of cultural capital and also brings in concepts related to terrorism and security unrest traditionally absent from theories on student retention. Based on a case study carried out in Israel on 50 full-time undergraduate students, this study suggests that the difficulties created by a country's political environment alone do not play a significant role in student retention. However, when coupled with the salient features that negatively impact retention worldwide, difficulties created by a country's security situation may increase tendencies to leave or consider leaving higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how and by how much the existence and performance of the Journal of Educational Sociology contributed to the different dimensions of the institutionalization of its branch of knowledge. According to E. George Payne, the periodical's founder, the Journal was originated for the purpose of representing the field of educational sociology in the U.S. By representing this field of study, the Journal also made an important contribution to the more comprehensive process of institutionalization. The possession of a journal is not only in itself a component of this process, but it furthers what appear to be its three other dimensions. First, the acceptance of the subject by higher education, in particular the universities, with the concomitant production of appointments, curricula, examinations, research facilities, and others, in this context it has been perceptively pointed out that university organizational practices and mechanisms may equally well hold up or speed up the process. Next, the rise of an attached group of professional workers, generally accepted as such, and enjoying the esteem and autonomy that the term implies. Lastly, the acceptance of the field as a legitimate area by public bodies, especially ones able to fund teaching and research activities, and thus more particularly, governmental agencies.