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Transitioning to Adulthood

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Rethinking School-to-Work Transitions in Australia

Part of the book series: Critical Studies of Education ((CSOE,volume 6))

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Abstract

In this chapter we argue that mechanical ways of ‘doing’ school are not working for large numbers of young people nor are they preparing them for the adult world (Pope, D. (2001). Doing school: How we are creating a generation of stressed out, materialistic, and miseducated students. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press). The evidence is damning in terms of the escalating number of students dropping out of school and/or failing to negotiate a smooth transition to adulthood. We argue that schools are closed institutions and generally ineffective in preparing young people to be ‘capable of exercising choice, making decisions and navigating their own learning from a very young age’ (Wyn, Youth Stud Aust 28(1): 55, 2009b). In response, in this chapter we endeavour to map a number of alternative pedagogical possibilities to support young people in making a smooth transition to the adult world by:

  • preparing students for life after school

  • navigating and reading the world.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The Broadway scheme allows students with an ATAR of 75 or above from a Broadway-identified Western Australian school to receive an offer into one of the university’s 3-year undergraduate degrees (Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Design and Bachelor of Science). http://www.studyat.uwa.edu.au/undergraduate/admission/alternative-entry/broadway

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Down, B., Smyth, J., Robinson, J. (2018). Transitioning to Adulthood. In: Rethinking School-to-Work Transitions in Australia. Critical Studies of Education, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72269-6_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72269-6_5

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